TY - JOUR AB - Purpose– The paper aims to describe the development of an alternative to the Big Deals that was deployed successfully in negotiations with Elsevier and Wiley for the 2012 settlement.Design/methodology/approach– This is a descriptive account of the alternative plan.Findings– There is a credible alternative to the Big Deals offered by most commercial academic publishers. Even if not implemented, the model provides a very useful tool to understanding the relationship between cost per use and document supply.Originality/value– The paper provides an account of the first time that a practical alternative to the Big Deals has been developed, leading to a successful negotiating conclusion. VL - 40 IS - 4 SN - 0264-1615 DO - 10.1108/02641611211283831 UR - https://doi.org/10.1108/02641611211283831 AU - McGrath Mike PY - 2012 Y1 - 2012/01/01 TI - Fighting back against the Big Deals: a success story from the UK T2 - Interlending & Document Supply PB - Emerald Group Publishing Limited SP - 178 EP - 186 Y2 - 2024/03/29 ER -