SERU is a recommended practice of the National Information Standards Organization. SERU has been used successfully by publishers of all sizes since 2007.
SERU (Shared E-Resource Understanding) is not limited to just United States institutions; it is designed to be used by both domestic and international organizations who wish to simplify their electronic resource transactions without needing to negotiate formal licenses each time. The SERU Registry allows libraries, publishers, and consortia from anywhere to indicate their willingness to use SERU practices for e-resource acquisitions, and international consortia and participants have joined and utilized SERU.
SERU is a NISO (National Information Standards Organization) Best Practice that uses copyright law as its governing framework, which varies by jurisdiction but still provides a basis for use beyond the US. The lack of a mandatory license makes SERU attractive for streamlining global transactions between libraries and publishers and for quick patron access, regardless of geographic region.
The SERU is not a document, it’s an agreement between participating organizations. Learn more here: https://www.niso.org/standards-committees/seru . If you choose to register, all you need to do is advise us you want to use our resource via a SERU. The SERU agreement is here: http://groups.niso.org/higherlogic/ws/public/download/8593/RP-7-2012_SERU.pdf . We agree to its terms, and IPA Source would only stipulate that our resource is not accessible to your institution in perpetuity but rather for as long as your institution remains a subscriber.
You may review the current members of the registry – both universities as well as publishers – here: https://sites.google.com/niso.org/registry-seru/
To proceed with a SERU:
1) communicate via email with IPA Source that your institution is in agreement to abide by the SERU and that you understand your institution may only use our resource for as long as your institution is an active subscriber, not in perpetuity
and
2) register for the SERU registry if you’re not already a member. It’s a very simple form and process.