ISSN: 1046-3410 NEWSLETTER ON SERIALS PRICING ISSUES NUMBER 26 -- September 9, 1990 Editor: Marcia Tuttle CONTENTS 26.1 FROM THE EDITOR, Marcia Tuttle 26.2 HOW TO CITE THE , Marcia Tuttle (from Sue Dodd) 26.3 ECONOMICS OF ACCESS TO LIBRARY MATERIALS ALA PROGRAM, Sarah Thomas 26.4 , Gay N. Dannelly 26.5 OFFER, Mignon Adams 26.6 COMMERCIAL STRATEGIES OF SCIENTIFIC JOURNAL PUBLISHING, James Thompson 26.7 SPECIFIC LARGE PRICE INCREASES, Deana Astle 26.8 : FOCUS ON LIBRARIES AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, Julie Rudy 26.9 NEGOTIATING SERVICES AND FEES WITH SUBSCRIPTION AGENCIES, Buzzy Basch 26.10 : WAITING FOR THE OTHER SHOE TO DROP, Cyndie Cowan 26.11 HAMAKER'S HAYMAKERS, Chuck Hamaker 26.1 FROM THE EDITOR Marcia Tuttle, TUTTLE@UNC.BITNET. It has come to my attention that international publishers are particu- larly interested this year in knowing librarians' reactions and re- sponses to the latest round of journal price increases. While the Newsletter carries this kind of report routinely, let's make sure these publishers know how we feel and what we are forced to do about it. Note especially in this issue of the Newsletter the instances of added pages and added issues. We won't promise we'll publish every- thing you say, but if you watch your language and don't make threats, it should be all right. We can guarantee that all the international publishers will hear what you say, because either they get the News- letter electronically, someone sends them a paper copy, or they will be told. Anonymous contributions not encouraged! David Crawford, Health Sciences Librarian at McGill University (MI66@MUSICA.MCGILL.CA), sends this comment: I noted with interest the announcement of the first Russian/US jour- nal announced in the NEWSLETTER ON SERIALS PRICING ISSUES #25. There is a Russian/British (really "Western," from the Editorial Advisory Board) journal being published jointly by the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, and Turpin Transactions, Ltd. and Pion, Ltd., both of London. Its title is BIOMEDICAL SCIENCE, and it started with vol. 1 in 1990. ISSN is 0955-9701, and it costs 190 UK pounds per annum. It covers "the scientific basis of medicine and reflecting particularly research done in the Soviet Union." Several librarians have mentioned the very colorful and very informa- tive brochure, "The Crisis in Serials Pricing ... ASM's Answer," sent out by the American Society for Microbiology to tell librarians how ASM controls both the cost and the quality of its journals, lending further credence to ARL's published statement: "...the most cost effective course for the entire research community is to pub- lish by preference in lower price-per-unit journals, such as those published by societies." If you did not receive the brochure, write American Society for Micro- biology, Journals Division, 1325 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20005-4171, or telephone (202) 737-3600. The July/August 1990 issue of the Society for Scholarly Publishing's SSP LETTER, volume 12, issue 3/4, has a very detailed report on the society's twelfth annual meeting held in San Francisco in June. SSP is an appropriate and very exciting group for librarians concerned about journal pricing (and certainly other issues). The seminars and confer- ences are small enough for easy participation and for one-to-one or small group discussions to occur. The formal programs are well done and very relevant to our interests. Membership information is availa- ble from the Society for Scholarly Publishing, 10200 West 44th Avenue, Suite 304, Wheat Ridge CO 80033; (303) 422-3914. Bill Benson, Serials Librarian at WRDC/ISL Technical Library (Wright- Patterson AFB OH 45433-6523; DataLinx: FL2802) sends this message: I just finished studying the 62 Pergamon titles we subscribe to (we received their new price list this week) and thought you'd like to know that we are looking at a 31 percent increase. Unless we do some cancelling, we will be paying $60,000 for our 79 subscriptions (we get some duplicates). Along the same lines, here's a message from Connie Foster at Western Kentucky University (DataLinx: CFOSTER): I have just reviewed our payments for UMI titles and wonder if any concern is extended to some increases in micro as a type of serial, in addition to the usual mention of Pergamon, Elsevier, et al. Ti- tles like the ATLANTA CONSTITUTION have seen modest increase in a year-by-year period (1989 to 1990 = 7.8 percent, 1990 to 1991 = 8.7 percent), but since 1989 the increase = 17.26 percent. LEGAL TIMES of Washington, NEW YORK TIMES, NEW YORK REVIEW OF BOOKS all have increases in the 20 percent range, with this year's increase for LEGAL TIMES being 25 percent (and in three years it has gone up 50 percent). I'm not sure if NASIG has had any sessions on this, either. I haven't noticed too many, if any, microfilm publishers at the annual conferences. Finally, let me urge readers who have notes or brief articles to con- tribute to the Newsletter not to wait to be asked. I have not been able to make long distance calls since January because of North Caro- lina's financial problems, and it has gotten very awkward to ask one of the subcommittee members to do my phoning for me. We also have a hiring freeze, and UNC-CH's Serials Department has three vacancies, two of them in the Central Serial Record (manual). This situation limits everybody's time for professional activities! 26.2 HOW TO CITE THE Marcia Tuttle, from Sue Dodd Claiming that she has "done this and gone on to other things," Sue Dodd of UNC-CH's Institute for Research in Social Science, everybody's computer-files-citation guru, sent me a copy of a talk she gave sev- eral months ago, so I could figure out for myself how to cite the Newsletter. The basic rule, she says, is to cite an article in a com- puter file (the new name for "machine-readable data file") just the way you would cite a printed article and identify it as a computer file. Sue's paper puts it this way: Because standards and past traditions fall behind technology and the capability to produce computer-generated works, there are no defini- tive "guidelines" for citing an article that appears in an electron- ic journal. However, common sense plus building on what is currently in place makes the leap from print to computer-readable a manageable feat. The following examples reflect articles that have appeared in PACS Review. Morgan, James Jay. 1990. "Expansion and Testing of a Meridian CD- ROM Network" . Houston, Texas: PUBLIC-ACCESS COMPUTER SYSTEM REVIEW. Electronic journal. 1(1)34-42. (Access via EMail "GET MORGAN PRV1N1" LISTSERV@UHUPVM1 or LIB3@UHUPVM1. BITNET). Stigleman, Sue. 1990. "Text Management Software: . Houston, Texas: PUBLIC-ACCESS COMPUTER SYSTEM REVIEW. Electronic journal. 1(1)5-22. (Access via EMail "GET STIGLEMA PRV1N1" LISTSERV@UHUPVM1 or LIB3@UHUPVM1.BITNET). To quote my library school thesis advisor, Dr. Agnes Reagan, "It doesn't matter what you do, as long as you're consistent." So, here's my stab at citing the following article. Both below and in the exam- ples above, "<" and ">" replace Sue's square brackets, which won't fly on e-mail: Thomas, Sarah. "Economics of Access to Library Materials ALA Pro- gram" . NEWSLETTER ON SERIALS PRICING ISSUES. 26 (September 9, 1990). Electronic newsletter. (Access via EMail TUTTLE@UNC.BITNET). You're all invited to improve on this. Our articles are a little dif- ferent from Sue's examples, because they are not available separately from a listserver, and because our issues are not divided into pages. Sue gives permission for her paper to be distributed with credit, and I will be happy to send copies (preferably by e-mail). 26.3 ECONOMICS OF ACCESS TO LIBRARY MATERIALS ALA PROGRAM Sarah Thomas, Chief Technical Services Division, National Agri- culture Library; BITNET: STHOMAS@UMDARS. On June 26, 1990, the ALCTS (Association for Library Collections and Technical Services) Task Force on the Economics of Access to Library Materials presented the Task Force report and recommendations at a session highlighted by the remarks of Dr. Eugene Wong of the Office of Science and Technology Policy. Robert Wedgeworth, Task Force Chair and Dean of the Columbia University School of Library Service, introduced the group's final report, the result of two years of discussion and debate. The Task Force was charged by the Resources and Technical Services Division (now ALCTS) of the American Library Association in 1988 with developing "a strategy for ALA's participation on national and international levels in discussions, investigations, and actions relating to the availability, economics, and distribution of library materials" and with developing a "long-term mechanism to address the rising cost of serials." Wedgeworth spoke of the difficulty of providing access to one's own collection, let alone access through a coordinated effort by a multi- tude of institutions, and he declared that bibliographic tools are no longer adequate. Raising the issue of subsidies in relation to the problem of serials pricing, Wedgeworth noted that different prices for institutions and individuals was one form of subsidy, and that authors subsidized publication when they did not receive payment for their work. Dean Wedgeworth described the Task Force report as preliminary, and he called on a representative panel of Task Force members for their com- ments on the report. Duane Arenales, Chief of the Technical Services Division, National Library of Medicine, warned the audience that there was "no magic solution" to the problem facing the library community. She felt the report's most significant contribution may be in bringing the impact of increased prices to the attention of an audience beyond the library community. Tess Carey, President, Turner Subscription Agency, commented on the unrelenting increases foreseen for serials in the coming year. Speaking from the Canadian perspective, Tom Delsey, Director, Acquisi- tions and Bibliographic Services Branch, National Library of Canada, brought up several points of interest. Delsey noted that Canadian libraries cannot deal exclusively with domestic imprints; Canadian imprints represent only about 10 percent of research collections. Because of this, Canadian libraries are particularly vulnerable to exchange rates. Although various reports on the issue of serials pric- ing recommend resource sharing as a strategy, Delsey noted that there is a high cost for maintaining the supporting infrastructure, and that an attitudinal change is required to support access over the more traditional collection building. He also referenced the importance of copyright, legislation for which differs in Canada from the United States. Canadian public libraries are also concerned that solutions proposing electronic distribution of information might disenfranchise them, especially small public libraries without resources for hard- ware. In general, Delsey found a broad level of support for the task force report from the spectrum of Canadian libraries he had consulted. The final speaker on the panel was George Soete, Collection Develop- ment Librarian, University of California at San Diego, the author of the draft report. Soete spoke eloquently about the Task Force's desire to develop a shared conscience about the free flow of information, and he warned of the track of steady erosion to access to information that the task force and others engaged with the problem had uncovered. He urged the participation of all members of the research community in resolving the problem. In the second half of the meeting, Dr. Eugene Wong, Associate Director for Physical Sciences and Engineering in the Office of Science and Technology Policy, Executive Office of the President, addressed the audience. Dr. Wong spoke of the enhanced position of science within the present administration and the awareness of the interconnection of the economy, the environment, and education with science. Declaring that "effective information management is never far from science poli- cy, Wong stressed that we are living in an information age. Informa- tion resources are a strategic investment, and the problem of serials pricing was part of the larger issue of research funding. Major feder- al initiatives in the area of high performance computing and communi- cations will shape the future and have a revolutionary impact on our work. Paraphrasing Harvard's President Derek Bok, Wong concluded: "If you think the cost of information is high, try ignorance!" The report of the Task Force on the Economics of Access to Library Materials was submitted to the ALCTS Board of Directors for review, where it was accepted and endorsed with thanks. Those interested in obtaining a copy of the report should contact the ALCTS Office, Ameri- can Library Association, 50 East Huron Street, Chicago IL 60611. 26.4 Gay N. Dannelly, Ohio State University Library, GND@OHSTMVSA.BITNET. The HIGHER EDUCATION PRICES AND PRICE INDEXES: 1990 UPDATE, to go to press this month, will include an additional index for academic libraries, including most budget categories. At present Tables 7 and 7A provide information, sometimes prior to publication elsewhere, on materials costs. The new index will apparently include binding, equip- ment, personnel, automation, and other categories of library expendi- tures. Kent Halstead, Research Associates of Washington (D.C.), who compiles the Update for the federal government, is basing the distri- bution on an NCES (National Center for Educational Statistics) 1984 (really 1983) distribution. Just as the Subindexes of Books and Peri- odicals may influence institutional budget officers, so might this new index. Newsletter readers may wish to be on the lookout for this new addition. Mr. Halstead has also stated that he will include a state- ment that libraries differ greatly and that it is most appropriate for a library to apply its own weights to the national cost figures. 26.5 OFFER Mignon Adams, Director of Library Services, Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science, Woodland Avenue at 43rd Street, Phila- delphia PA 19104-4495; phone: (215) 596-8800. If librarians needed any more proof that journal publishers are price gouging, this should do it. The subscription price to the EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF MARKETING is $1,045 a year. MCB University Press 62 Toller Lane, Bradford, West Yorkshire England BD8 9BY, Telephone: Bradford (0274) 499821 Telex 51317 MCBUNI G, Fax (0274) 547143 Dear Colleague EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF MARKETING - Two for One Offer It is not always easy to get, let alone keep your hands on a copy of the journal which brings you the latest in marketing research and analysis from Europe. Does your library subscribe to EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF MARKETING? If it does not, you are missing something that gives other educators around the world a leading edge in their field. But even if your library does decide to take out a subscription, how sure are you that you will be able to get a copy of the journal when you most want it -- just as soon as it arrives and before it disap- pears off the shelf? We would like to introduce you to the EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF MARKETING and make sure that you will not lose out on the benefits of a sub- scription. It is very simple. Ask your librarian to subscribe to the EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF MARKETING. Just as soon as we receive their subscription, either direct or via their usual agent, we will also enter you for a full subscription with our compliments. There will be no waiting in the library or enquiring whether or not the journal has arrived; it will be despatched to you directly and personally. To claim your personal subscription all you need to do is fill out the coupon and send it to me at the above address. Then, your li- brarian needs to send us the order form or order via their usual agent. I will take care of the rest and look forward to welcoming you as one of our regular readers. With best wishes. Yours sincerely Gillian Crawford Marketing Services Executive 26.6 COMMERCIAL STRATEGIES OF SCIENTIFIC JOURNAL PUBLISHING James Thompson, University of California, Riverside, THOMPSON@UCRVMS.BITNET. I would like to commend to the attention of the Newsletter's readers an unusually frank discussion of the commercial strategies of scien- tific journal publishing, which appeared in THE IMPACT OF CD-ROM ON LIBRARY OPERATIONS AND UNIVERSAL AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION (Proceed- ings of the 11th International Essen Symposium, 1988), published by the Universitatsbibliothek Essen, Essen, West Germany, 1989. This volume contains several papers on the ADONIS experiment with the publication of scientific journals in facsimile on optical disks, with copies printed out for sale from a number of distribution points. Most of the papers laud the experiment as a universally beneficial use of new technology to reduce expense for users as well as publishers. James Andrew Braid of the BLDSC, for instance, states that "ADONIS was based on the assumption that copies of articles in journals could be made available more cheaply in machine readable form than by conven- tional, manual, methods" (in "ADONIS -- From Myth to Reality," p. 150). However, David J. Brown, of Blackwell Scientific Publications, lets the cat completely out of the bag in his paper "ADONIS -- The Strategic Needs of Publishers" (pp. 141-48). Since these proceedings may not be widely available, I'll quote a few passeges from Brown's paper: ADONIS had its inception in the mid-70's when publishers expressed concern at the impact which photocopying of articles was having on periodical acquisitions. (p. 142) ADONIS was created in response to a market threat. It is not a case of some bright spark going away and coming up with an interesting application for advanced technology. It originated in the market- place. It is controlled by concepts of profitability and viability. (p. 143) The main objective of ADONIS is to wrest the control for the distri- bution of "separates" away from the library intermediaries and to restore control with the publishers. (p. 148) This doesn't tell us anything we didn't already know, but it is re- freshing when a major scientific publisher is candid about its mo- tives. 26.7 SPECIFIC LARGE PRICE INCREASES Deana Astle, Clemson University, DLAST@CLEMSON.BITNET. We got information from Faxon that Pergamon's COMBUSTION AND FLAME is increasing from $375 to $825 next year (also doubling in issues), and its MINERALS ENGINEERING is increasing from $140 to $315 (also dou- bling in issues). The first increase is 120 percent; the second, 125 percent. This is just what we need! Got another price increase announcement today. APPLIED ECONOMICS, published by Chapman and Hall (owned by International Thompson), is going up from $425 to $730 for 1991. It is apparently now a monthly and will increase to 14 issues for next year. The kicker is that they are including in the subscription price (apparently there is no option to choose otherwise) the title APPLIED FINANCIAL ECONOMICS. These four issues, plus the two additional ones of APPLIED ECONOMICS, will "dou- ble the amount of material." This is all well and good, unless we don't want APPLIED FINANCIAL ECONOMICS and want to pay the lower price. Interesting tactic, isn't it? In reviewing prices I found we had paid $987 for INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF COMPUTER MATHEMATICS in 1988, and $2746 in 1989. Gordon and Breach appears to be using the same pattern here as they did with EARLY CHILD EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT. We were paying big bucks for a volume of two physical pieces (four numbers) of about 200 pages each. Irate anger was the response from the selector when he saw what we were paying for. 26.8 ; FOCUS ON LIBRARIES AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Contributed by Julie Rudy, Director of Publications, CAUSE, Boul- der CO, JRUDY@COLORADO.BITNET. Julie, Editor of CAUSE/EFFECT, the publication of CAUSE, sent a copy of the Summer 1990 (Volume 13, number 2) issue, which has three arti- cles on the topic "Focus on Libraries and Information Technology." She sent the issue in good time for coverage in the last issue of the Newsletter, and I offer my apologies for not mentioning it sooner. Here are the articles and their abstracts: Heterick, Robert C., Jr. "Networked Information: What Can We Expect and When?" pp. 9-14. Much has been written and much is known about how digital technolo- gies will transform the library. This article describes some of the potential inhibitors of this transformation and some steps that colleges and universities can take to overcome them. Included is information about the formation of a national coalition by the Asso- ciation of Research Libraries, CAUSE, and EDUCOM -- the Coalition for Networked Information. The Coalition was formed to encourage the development of information resources on the proposed National Re- search and Education Network (NREN). Also included are excerpts from the statement of Paul Gherman, Director of Libraries at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, before the House Subcom- mittee on Science, Research, and Technology on behalf of the Ameri- can Library Association and the Association of Research Libraries in support of the NREN. Lynch, Clifford A. "Access Tehcnology for Network Information Re- sources." pp. 15-20. This article examines some of the technical access barriers that inhibit the effective use of the information resources available today on higher education networks; the emerging information server technology that promises to alleviate many of these access problems; and the growing popularity of the Z39.50 protocol, including some questions that remain about this information retrieval standard. A sample list of Z39.50-based projects is offered. Rosser, James M., and Penrod, James I. "Computing and Libraries: A Partnership Past Due." pp. 21-24. This article addresses the growing need for the heads of computing/ communications and library organizations on college and university campuses not only to work together in a cooperative spirit but also to assume leadership roles in planning for institutional information resources. The authors discuss the role of the chief information officer on campus, changing institutional needs in an information economy, and the need for higher education to engage in strategic planning and management, inclusive of information technology re- sources. 26.9 NEGOTIATING SERVICES AND FEES WITH SUBSCRIPTION AGENCIES N. Bernard "Buzzy" Basch, Basch Associates, Chicago IL. WHEN? Friday, 19 October, 1990, 9:00 - 5:00. WHERE? Los Angeles Airport Marriott, 5855 West Century Boulevard, Los Angeles CA WHAT? A one-day seminar highlighting the opportunities for librar- ies and information centers to save money and improve serv- ice through negotiating with subscription agencies and other serial suppliers. The Marketplace - Libraries: the $1 billion market; market segments; service usage. - Agencies: the companies; market share; marketing strate- gies; agency consolidation; other serial vendors. - Agencies and Publishers: dependency; competition. The Subscription Agency Business - Revenue sources: publisher discounts; service fees; foreign exchange conversion; money management. - Costs: payments to publishers; automation; risk; research and development. - Business practices: margins; efficiency; profit objec- tives; cost assignment; image. - Service charges: how they are calculated and assigned to clients. - The future: unbundling; monitoring service. Negotiating - Strategies: how and where to begin the process; win-win; vendor attitudes. - Opportunities: collection profile; service usage; single or multiple vendors; period of service. - Objectives: dollar savings; service improvement/conces- sions. WHO? Presented by N. Bernard "Buzzy" Basch, formerly President of Turner Subscriptions, and Vice President at EBSCO and The Faxon Company. HOW? Registration fee: $295.00 (includes luncheon). Forward reg- istration and payment to: Basch Associates 860 North Lake Shore Dirve Suite 7J Chicago IL 60611 Phone: (312) 787-6885; FAX: (312) 943-0025 Registration accepted through 12 October. Make checks payable to Basch Associates. Accommodation is available at the Marriott for $99.00 a night. A block of rooms has been set aside for seminar par- ticipants. To secure one of these rooms call Marriott Reser- vations at 1-800-832-4004. Mention that you are attending the Basch Associates seminar. 26.10 : WAITING FOR THE OTHER SHOE TO DROP Contributed by Cyndie Cowan, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, COWANC@UNC.BITNET. The following is the complete text of a letter sent out on the letter- head of PHILOSOPHICAL MAGAZINE, published by Taylor & Francis: Dear Colleague, PHILOSOPHICAL MAGAZINE Because the PHILOSOPHICAL MAGAZINE attracts such a large number of good quality papers across an ever increasing range of subjects, the publishers have decided to plan for an increased number of pages in 1991. With the growing representation of North American work in the journal it is important to ensure that we accommodate a proper bal- ance of material from that continent: Dr James Smith of Los Alamos National Laboratory has recently been appointed North American Edi- tor. We have tried not to increase the size of the journal over the past three or so years, because of the pressure on library budgets. How- ever, for 1991, we will be publishing well over 1400 extra pages. Although this has meant a considerable increase in the subscription price of the journal, we are sure you will agree with us that this is necessary if we are to serve the community by publishing import- ant papers in a timely fashion and to expand as the subject matter covered by the journal develops and increases. Yours sincerely, E A Davis Editor 26.11 HAMAKER'S HAYMAKERS Chuck Hamaker, Louisiana State University, NOTCAH@LSUVM.BITNET. Analysis of LSU's serials list with the big three indicates pricing increases for 1991 are as bad as we had all feared. Elsevier comes in at an increase of 35 percent, Pergamon at 27 percent, and Springer Verlag journals at 26 percent. In looking back at billings in 1987, Pergamon and Elsever journals have doubled in dollar price since then, and Springer is up 75 percent. About half of the increased prices for Elsevier and Springer are increases in their respective DFL and DM prices. To be exact, Elsevier titles have increased 42 percent in Dutch Guilder price since 1987 with the US dollar price up 98 percent; Springer titles are up 32 percent in DM since 1987, with the dollar price up 74 percent in that time. Pergamon titles are up 86 percent since 1987. These five-year increases are all based on titles held at Louisiana State University Library. Increases in volumes and issues vary considerably for the "big three," but that is almost a secondary concern to libraries paying the bills, as this level of price increase is not sustainable no matter what justifications might be given. An oversimplification perhaps, but in general terms, a materials budget for an academic collection supporting the sciences would have had to double since 1987 to stay even in terms of purchasing power. Since the big publishers have not complained of declining revenues, the only "partner" damaged by these increases is libraries. Everybody else -- scientists and publishers and stockholders -- is ecstatic. At the risk of sounding repetitious -- IT IS TIME, AND PAST IT, FOR COLLECTIVE ACTION. Newsletter readers let us down. The two most recent issues of ULRICH'S NEWS (April/May and June/July 1990) both contained significant analy- ses of topics of concern to us all. In the April/May issue, "Serials Analysis; A Comparison of Scientific Periodicals within the Commercial and Nonprofit Sectors" treated titles under Ulrich's heading Biology and the eleven subcategories, comparing market share with a pricing profile for each type of publisher. Biochemistry, a major cost area for many libraries supporting the sciences, shows non-commercial dis- tribution controls only 10 percent of the market. Commercial journals have a median price of $755.00, while association/academic based peri- odicals have a median price of $249.00. The dominance of noncommercial presses is apparent in only two areas, Flora & Fauna and Physiology. The June/July issue focuses on Chemistry and includes foreign-based titles distributed in the U.S., when the foreign publisher has a U.S. office. In Organic Chemistry, the average price of association/academ- ic based titles is $198.00, while foreign publications average $1,143.00. Gordon Graham's excellent non-technical overview of the serials wars, "A Scholarly Confrontation," is presented in the August 24 issue of PUBLISHERS WEEKLY (p. 54). It is excellent in everything except, from my perspective, the conclusion. He suggests publishers and libraries together could make compelling arguments to governments for -- sur- prise! -- more money. Surely, after looking at just how much money would be needed to restore British academic libraries, and recognition that many American libraries would have to double their serials bud- gets since 1987 just to stay even, more is not the answer. At various times in the past decade, most libraries around the world have been caught in similar situations. The answer is not to get even more mon- ey, Mr. Graham. Restraint and reasonable pricing would have been a proper response. That has not been a direction international publish- ers have chosen to go, so they will probably have to be forced to it by large and continuous cancellation projects. This year's price in- creases should spark just that reaction. It is, in the Americas, too late for talk, and there will be no more money from the "government." (Thanks also to Carol Jones, Georgia State University Library, for alerting us to this piece. -ed) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Readers of the NEWSLETTER ON SERIALS PRICING ISSUES are encouraged to share the information in the newsletter by electronic or paper meth- ods. We would appreciate credit if you quote from the newsletter. ====================================================================== The NEWSLETTER ON SERIALS PRICING ISSUES (ISSN: 1046-3410) is pub- lished as news is available by the American Library Association's Association for Library Collections and Technical Services, Publish- er/Vendor-Library Relations Committee's Subcommittee on Serials Pric- ing Issues. Editor: Marcia Tuttle, BITNET: TUTTLE@UNC.BITNET; Faxon's DataLinx: TUTTLE; ALANET: ALA0348; Paper mail: Serials Department, C.B. #3938 Davis Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill NC 27599-3938; telephone: (919) 962-1067; FAX: (919) 962-0484. Committee members are: Deana Astle (Clemson University), Mary Elizabeth Clack (Harvard University), Jerry Curtis (Springer- Verlag New York), Charles Hamaker (Louisiana State University), Robert Houbeck (University of Michigan), and Marcia Tuttle. EBSCONET custom- ers may receive the newsletter in paper format from EBSCO. Back issues of the newsletter are available electronically free of charge through BITNET from the editor. ====================================================================== ******ENDOFFILE***ENDOFFILE***ENDOFFILE***ENDOFFILE***ENDOFFILE*******