You Call that Perpetual? Issues in Perpetual Access

Ensuring perpetual access to electronic resources is a difficult and multifaceted process. Many issues stand in the way of seamless ongoing access and challenge traditional definitions of “perpetual.” License agreements are often vague on the issue. Librarians and vendors often fail to properly track the content to which an institution is entitled after a contract has lapsed. New e-book editions complicate access to previous editions. Multimedia resources may rely on quickly outdated software, so that they become unusable even if the content still has value. These challenges, as well as strategies for working through them, are discussed in relation to electronic journals, books, and multimedia resources.