The libraries at the University of Maryland and the University of Minnesota have both recently decided not to accept Elsevier's Big Deal.  Instead of signing a multiyear contract to purchase the entire package of Elsevier journals, they will subscribe to Elsevier journals one-by-one, reserving the right to cancel journals that are especially poor bargains.
 

              Notice to users of
University of Maryland Library

Subject : Elsevier E Journal Renewal
         Many on campus know that the Libraries have been negotiating
         with the publisher Elsevier regarding renewal of their
         journals. These extremely difficult negotiations are now
         complete for 2004. In January library users will notice two
         changes as a result. To keep the right to cancel titles as
         needed to balance our budget, our subscription will change to
         a package where we only have electronic access to College
         Park’s subscriptions, not to those held by other University
         System of Maryland libraries.We are also moving to
         electronic-only subscriptions.These subscriptions will be
         renewed annually pending review.
 

Notice to Users of
University of Minnesota Library

ScienceDirect: E-Journals from Elsevier Science

 Changes to ScienceDirect access for 2003

 In addition to online access to its paid Elsevier subscriptions, the University Libraries has enjoyed
 complimentary online access to many additional, unsubscribed Elsevier titles. Due to rising
 subscription costs and a limited collections budget, the University Libraries have been forced to
 make some hard choices regarding which Elsevier titles we can continue to afford to provide. The
 agreement for the remainder of 2003 provides University of Minnesota users with current access to
 only those titles for which we have paid subscriptions, i.e. 686 of the approximately 1200 titles
 formerly provided by Elsevier ScienceDirect, from 1998 (or year of first publication) to the present.

 For titles no longer accessible online, University faculty, staff, and students have the following
 options:

      You can obtain a copy of an article via Interlibrary Loan. Most interlibrary loan requests for
      journal articles are filled within 1 week.
      The Libraries are also working with Elsevier to offer a faster "pay per view" option, whereby
      you can pay approximately $31.00 via credit card and download an article immediately. We
      hope to make this option available via the ScienceDirect web site in the near future.
      Check our catalog MNCAT to see if the title is available in print at a campus library. The
      Libraries can deliver copies of print articles on or off campus for $5.00 per article, via its
      LUMINA To U service.