Subscription agents have had to reinvent themselves over the past 15 years as the numbers of print subscriptions have dramatically dwindled. Many libraries have chosen to bypass the subscription agent and its extra fees in favor of dealing directly with the publisher for e-journal and e-journal package procurement and management. Especially in difficult economic times, libraries have to seriously and deliberately evaluate the expense of using the subscription agent and determine whether any value-added services the agent offers are worth the money. At The University of Alabama (UA), the author says they had to determine whether to use or not use a subscription agent for their e-journal procurement, and this decision involved evaluating the advantages and disadvantages of using an agent versus going direct. This article will explore the UA decision-making process and examine the challenges associated with e-journal management more broadly. (Contains 3 notes.)