ISSN: 1046-3410 NEWSLETTER ON SERIALS PRICING ISSUES NO 80 -- April 21, 1993 Editor: Marcia Tuttle CONTENTS 80.1 "ACADEME THIS WEEK," Judith Turner 80.2 RESPONSE TO FRED FRIEND'S COMMENTS IN NO 79, Ted Dobb 80.3 RATIONALE FOR STM JOURNAL PUBLISHERS' "PROMOTIONAL" PLANS, Tony Stankus 80.4 FROM THE MAILBOX 80.1 "ACADEME THIS WEEK" Judith Turner, _Chronicle of Higher Education_, judith@page1.com. [Reprinted from PACS-L with the author's permission.] Announcing "ACADEME THIS WEEK" a New Service on the Internet From The Chronicle of Higher Education The Chronicle of Higher Education is launching "ACADEME THIS WEEK," a free electronic service on the Internet. "ACADEME THIS WEEK" will include: 1. A guide to the news in the current week's issue of _The Chronicle of Higher Education_. 2. A calendar of the week's events in academe. 3. A schedule of the week's events in Washington, DC, of interest to the men and women of academe. 4. The week's important deadlines for fellowships, grant applications, exchange programs, and more. 5. A listing of hundreds of job openings at colleges, universities, and other non-profit institutions worldwide. The job announcements come from The Chronicle's "Bulletin Board" section -- the world's largest academic- job marketplace. The new service on the Internet is the first by a major newspaper to offer portions of its editorial contents along with extensive listings of job openings. The Chronicle, published weekly, is the No. 1 professional news source for faculty members and administrators at colleges and universities in the United States and many other countries. A new edition of "ACADEME THIS WEEK" will be available on the Internet every Tuesday beginning at 12 noon, Eastern time (US). The service began on Tuesday, April 13. "ACADEME THIS WEEK" is available on the Internet on many "Gopher" servers under "All the Gopher Servers in the World." Users with their own Gopher software can find "ACADEME THIS WEEK" at chronicle.merit.edu. Anyone may request more information about access to the service by sending an electronic-mail message to help@chronicle.merit.edu. [Judith adds that there is no listserver access because of the quantity and complexity of the information. For example, the job ads; they had ads for more than 850 positions last week, and there's no reason to think that number will not increase. Not fun to scroll through! Easier to turn pages. -ed.] 80.2 RESPONSE TO FRED FRIEND'S COMMENTS IN NO 79 Ted Dobb, Simon Fraser University, via pbaldwin@sfu.ca. To: Fred Friend, Librarian, University College London You are quite right Fred, your experience has been ours for the last 27 years. But let me encourage you to give up whatever cynicism our news prompted by letting you know how we are doing so far. On April 5, 1993, our Senate passed a restructured biochemistry program. In response to our eval- uation of the library resource requirements, the Dean of Science, in his covering memo, made the following commitment: The Library has provided an analysis of the proposed additional Library holdings. The Faculty of Science will provide the funding for the re- quired periodicals ($2,015 per year) and the costs for new monographs ($3,559 per year). We will provide the additional funding for the less- essential monograph holdings of $5,932 over the next two to three year period. The other courses and programs coming our way show every sign of being treated the same way. We take a conservative approach in our estimates and attempt to develop a close working relationship with the faculty member(s) concerned early in the process, with a particular interest in getting them to sign on to the methodology of assessment we use in any particular case. In this regard, I should say that the OCLC/AMIGOS service has been extreme- ly useful. It makes Conspectus look like what it is: the biggest boondoggle in the history of libraries. Best wishes, Ted Dobb, University Librarian, Simon Fraser University. 80.3 RATIONALE FOR STM JOURNAL PUBLISHERS' "PROMOTIONAL" PLANS Tony Stankus, Holy Cross, LIB_STANKUS@HCACAD.HOLYCROSS.EDU. A number of serialists such as Phyllis Brown of Idaho State and Carol Fleishauer of MIT have offered interesting comments and analogies on the emerging practice of publishers offering authors (or personal subscribers in some cases) coupons or certificates that can be used towards a subscrip- tion by either a local library favored by the author, or more commonly some dollar-poor foreign library. The comparison with offering coupons at the grocery store made by one con- tributor, particularly the fact that such coupon promotions are tax-deduct- ible, is revealing and leads me to suggest another analogy, as I sit, il- legally smoking before my terminal. These coupons really aren't so much of a benefit to the libraries here or abroad as an attempt to maintain brand loyalty, much as are cigarette coupons. (Do any of you remember perhaps, Raleigh's old coupons, or those now promoted by the resurgent Camel brands?) There are some interesting analogies between the cigarette industry and the serials industry. Both are frantically competing for declining pools of buyers. Individual publishers and cigarette manufacturers both hope that despite the shrinkage in the market, their particular brand may well sur- vive if it is promoted cleverly enough. For a long time in the cigarette industry, trendy promotions substituted for price competition. When domes- tic sales of cigarettes declined, foreign revenues, particularly in the rapidly industrializing Far East helped sustain tobacco revenues, much as Far Eastern sales have helped sci-tech-med serials publishers. (Interest- ingly enough, by the way, American cigarettes and serials are thought of as absolutely world-class and are preferred overwhelmingly by their ultimate consumers.) There is even some comparison between the warnings of the Sur- geon General (often ignored) and the hectoring of librarians about serials to their sci-tech-med clientele (likewise often ignored). There is also a "good-news", "bad-news" dilemma arising. For those who follow the cigarette industry, Marlboros have been substantially lowered in price, finally, as a concession to the inroads made by "generic" cigar- ettes. Serialists may well hope for a similar price cuts, excepting that serialists have not yet generated a "generic" brand that will force such a price cutting. Moreover, the suggestion by one commentator that maybe the Clinton adminis- tration should eliminate the tax-write-off for journal promotions (as well as for store coupon promotions) is a dicey proposition. According to a news item overheard today, the real President (Hilary) may well trigger a very sharp budget deficit of her own, since it is true that higher cigarette taxes do reduce smoking, but that governments have become extremely depen- dent on a steady flow of cigarette tax income. Much higher taxes will choke off revenues that are already badly needed. What we have is a judgment call. Are the many of us who make a living serv- icing sci-tech-med journals really that eager to help kill off the busi- ness? Will universities really fund large serials and science library de- partments to manage ever-reducing holdings of journals. I wonder, as I puff.....just how eager I am to kill this admittedly troublesome partner in my life. The Surgeon General and the librarians who, with much justice, decry my addictive habits (smoking and expensive serials) may be right, but what will the government and some of my fellow addicts do if both busines- ses collapse? Push Granola and Vegetable Juicers (humanities and social sciences journals)? In the meanwhile, I'll just look for the better and more reasonably priced brands (if they exist) of tobacco and journals. I suspect that like many addicts I will not entirely quit either habit, and for the many of us who do not choose to do so, dire warnings may not be so much of an influence (nor will coupons) so much as developing strategies of price and quality competition that do maintain brand loyalty. 80.4 FROM THE MAILBOX The mailbox is: tuttle@gibbs.oit.unc.edu. From Fred Friend, University College, London, ucylfjf@ucl.ac.uk: I was pleased to read the prompt response by STM to the ARL firm prices letter. There is clearly a lot of detailed work to be done before this initiative brings benefits but it is good that STM are responding so posi- tively. As was mentioned in the STM contribution a letter virtually identi- cal to the ARL letter has now been sent from SCONUL (the UK equivalent to ARL) signed by representatives from fifty-one libraries in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the work of Ann Okerson and her colleagues at ARL on the serials pricing issue, work from which non-ARL libraries all over the world will in due course benefit. This firm prices letter is but the latest example. Thanks should also go to the ARL Directors, who by agreeing to membership dues which made me flinch, enable the work of Ann and her colleagues to continue. ----- From Richard Jasper, Emory University, LIBRPJ@emuvm1.cc.emory.edu: On being informed by our subscription agent that the American Society of Zoologists was increasing the subscription rate for _American Zoologist_ from $140 to $400 per year effective in 1994, we consulted one of our fac- ulty members regarding whether or not the title is still needed at this price. "Greedy beasts" was the faculty member's response, who, unfortunate- ly, added that the title "is essential." ----- From Phil Leinbach, Tulane University, lb01ilf@music.tcs.tulane.edu: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Re Peter Graham's comments about the Thor Power Tool decision. I read his comments just after returning from lunch in the Faculty Dining Room. A faculty member was noting that in the last few years his (and others') books seemed to go "OP" so much quicker. I mentioned the Thor Power Tool decision. So I agree with Peter that it has definitely had an effect -- and not only librarians are noticing it. ----- From ALBERT HENDERSON, Consultant, 70244.1532@CompuServe.COM: QUOTATION OF THE YEAR: Dr Robert Park, a spokesman for the American Physical Society, said an official of the Department of Energy had recently met with the High Ener- gy Physics Advisory Panel to warn it of impending fiscal crises. `He told the physicists that if they want to save the S.S.C., they'd better circle their wagons and remember to shoot out, not at each other.' -- in The New York Times, April 11, 1993. p 20. ----- From Gerald (Jerry) Perry, Rush University, jper@rushvm.bitnet: RE: Koster Annora's call for suggestions/comments on offering 48 hour turnaround for articles from cancelled journals: At the Library of Rush University (Chicago), I've been coordinating journal "deselec- tions" these past three years in response to rising prices/shrinking budgets. For our next annual round of cuts, I'm preparing to offer our clients access at two Reference-area workstations to CARL UnCover, particularly the journal browse function which provides for table of contents scanning and document selection. I've drafted a step-by-step handout to support this option, we've scripted access on the worksta- tions, and I will use this service as a "peace offering" in communica- tions with faculty re: cancellation of favorite subscriptions. I would be happy to discuss this approach with anyone wishing to contact me directly: Gerald Perry, Library of Rush University, 600 S. Paulina St., Chicago, IL 60622 / VOICE: (312) 942-2280 / FAX: (312) 942-3143 / JPER@RUSHVM.BITNET. 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