Consortium Luxembourg responds to Clarivate/ProQuest’s announcement of ending the sale of single e-books with perpetual access Defending sustainable access

On 18 February, Clarivate/ProQuest, the vendor behind the platform Ebook Central announced their new “transformative subscription-based access strategy,” which ends the sale of single e-books with perpetual access by 30 June 2026. Their offer will be reduced to e-book packages available for subscription only which makes it impossible for libraries to build up permanent collections. 

Providing long-term access to content is a fundamental mission of libraries and a core value shared among the member libraries of Consortium Luxembourg. With tight budgets, libraries need the ability to curate sustainable collections that match the specific needs of their users, rather than subscribing to generic packages.

For the past 10 years, Consortium Luxembourg has purchased e-books via Ebook Central through various licensing models. Our member libraries have always appreciated the flexibility and ease of purchasing single e-books through one platform. The variety of acquisition models enabled Consortium Luxembourg to offer the largest e-book collection in Luxembourg on one platform with over 300,000 titles.

Consortium Luxembourg has decided to significantly reduce the investment in e-book purchases on Ebook Central. While all historic purchases will remain accessible on the platform, the current catalogue on Ebook Central will shrink over the coming months.

Instead, the Consortium will focus on acquiring e-books directly from publishers or other distributors to continue offering access to the most extensive and valuable collection possible through different acquisition models respecting library biodiversity and user needs.

Please contact your librarian for further inquiries.