The University Libraries will host four information sessions open to members of the UB community on the potential outcomes of the SUNY Libraries Consortium’s contract negotiations with Elsevier, one of the world’s largest publishers of scientific and technical scholarly journals.

SUNY’s current contract with Elsevier is set to expire on Dec. 31.

If the SUNY Libraries Consortium — made up of SUNY library members — is unable to reach an agreement with Elsevier, UB and other SUNY institutions may lose online access to future articles through the ScienceDirect database, which is comprised of nearly 3,000 journals.

If the contract ends, the UB community will retain access to Elsevier materials through the University Libraries’ Delivery+ service, a free service for faculty, staff and students that provides the electronic or physical delivery of individual journal articles.

Earlier this year, the University of California system could not reach an agreement with Elsevier, and similar situations are occurring at universities across Europe.

The University Libraries will share information regarding contract negotiations and alternative methods for journal access at a town hall forum at 10:30 a.m. Sept. 20 in The Buffalo Room, 10 Capen Hall, North Campus.

The discussion will be led by Carey Hatch, SUNY associate provost for academic technologies and information services, and Mark McBride, senior library strategist in the SUNY Office of Library and Information Services.

Additional information sessions will be held on UB’s three campuses:

Downtown Campus: 9 a.m., Oct. 7, 6201 Levy Conference Room, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

South Campus: 10:30 a.m., Oct. 25, 130 Abbott Hall.

North Campus: 10:30 a.m., Nov. 7, 310 Silverman Library, Capen Hall.