The report in Newsletter 17 on the ACRL program in Dallas, had a couple of errors. First, as Carol Hutchins told us non-physicists, we used Physics Review instead of Physical Review in reporting Dr. Barschall's illustration of the growth and change in physics research. In the same paragraph, we misquoted some of the figures. That paragraph should read as follows:
The number of abstracts in physics has risen from 24,200 in 1962 to 143,000 in 1988. During this same period, the membership of the American Institute of Physics rose from 18,500 to 39,400, and the number of Physical Review pages from 9,800 to 48,800. While indicative of the explosion of support for physics, it also reflects the changing nature of the authors published in Physical Review. In 1973, 24 percent of Physical Review authors were foreign, in large part because of page charges which many were forbidden by their governments to pay. Now, 52 percent of Physical Review authors are from outside the U.S.Joanna Wagar from Northern Michigan University Library says: It would be interesting to learn how libraries respond to faculty requests for new periodical or serial titles. Her BITNET id is USERSW12@UMICHUM; I hope she'll send a summary of the responses for a future issue of the Newsletter.
Issue 16 reprinted a letter from Danny Jones (University of Texas Health Science Center Library) to the editor of the European Journal of Biochemistry, complaining about the publication of an unsolicited added volume and suggesting that the price of the journal be lowered. Danny has forwarded copies of the response from both the editor and the publisher of EJB, as well as his own response to the publisher. The editor, Prof. P. Christen, wrote:
I am familiar with both camps: University and Institute libraries with their limited budgets on the one hand and editors and publishers who try to increase the reputation and visibility of their journals on the other. I still think that a collection of the reviews into a handy separate volume is a useful tool for scientists and students.
Professor Christen promised to discuss the issue with the publisher and to keep Danny informed. A letter from Dr. Nicola Klupsch, Journals Marketing, Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg, expresses concern about the complaint. She said:
Our main aim in publishing the collected reviews on an annual basis is to make these accessible to advanced students of biochemistry and related fields. We had hoped that you, as are all subscribers to the European Journal of Biochemistry, would be pleased to receive a complimentary copy of a publication that is otherwise on sale to the scientific community.Danny's response to Dr. Klupsch reads as follows:
In your letter you refer to this volume as a free copy. I cannot agree with you on this. Certainly there were costs associated with the printing, binding and distribution of this "free" volume, which ultimately must be paid from subscription income. While indeed we were not charged additionally for the volume, I can only conclude that the subscription which my library paid for the European Journal of Biochemistry was sufficient to cover these additional costs for a publication which I consider extravagant and wasteful.Robert Wedgeworth called to say that persons wishing to review and respond to the draft report of the ALCTS Task Force on the Economics of Access to Library Materials (EALS) may request a copy from the ALCTS office at 50 East Huron Street, Chicago IL 60611. Response is due to Wedgeworth by May 1, 1990.I cannot possibly know the financial position of the journal but this incident certainly suggests to me that it is generating more income than necessary to maintain the journal. I would again suggest reducing the subscription cost for next year.
The following query comes from Sylvia Martin at Vanderbilt (BITNET: MARTINSO@VUCTRVAX):
Am curious as to what libraries might be doing about electronic publishing in their collections. Have you heard any comments, decisions, guidelines? Your newsletter is certainly one of the titles worth handling (and perhaps preserving) in a more formal manner than is now being done. Just wondering if any serious thought has been given to this by anyone.20.2 HAMAKER'S HAYMAKERS
The March 1, 1990, issue of Nature (page 3) includes a brief note, "Errant Survey Draws Fire," by G. Christopher Anderson. Frank Forrest, a spokesman for Gordon & Breach, is noted as indicating "results from it (the Foundation Survey) could potentially be used as evidence in court to prove that Gordon and Breach was indeed damaged by the article in Physics Today (The Barschall article). Chris Schneider is noted as saying that the use of the letterhead and the signature "was due to secretarial error." Forrest also is noted as claiming the survey will be "for market research purposes." Since so many scientists worldwide read Nature, librarians should be prepared to provide additional information as the Nature article gives very little background.
Have just seen the new issue of Book Research Quarterly (Winter 1989-90). William S. Lofquist has a statistical series "U. S. Book Industry," on pages 79-83. The most significant finding of this report regards grade school textbooks. "Elementary textbooks noted a 1989 second quarter price increase of 18.4 percent over the same period in 1988. This price increase led the pack!! The two largest producers of textbooks are Harcourt Brace Jovanovich and U.S. Macmillan (which is now cooperating with McGraw Hill in textbooks). HBJ was hurt badly by Robert Maxwell's attempt at an unfriendly takeover last year, and took on an incredible load of corporate debt essentially through stock buyback to fend him off. Macmillan, of course, Maxwell bought. His U.S. holdings now include Jossey-Bass, SRA, and a host of smaller fry. Foreign or offshore ownership/takeover bids of publishing have perhaps finally given us a bread and butter issue. Is this appropriate for a GAO study (i.e., the effect of foreign involvement in the U.S. publishing on grade school textbooks)? Second quarter price increases are clearly aimed not only at the new school year (1989/90), but also may have a very clear definition by June of total sales. As Texas and California make up the driving force in textbook sales, libraries and school boards in those states would make powerful allies in curbing oligopoly pricing in textbooks and in damage to the education infrastructure. Elementary textbooks stand at an index number of 213.8 in Lofquist's tables, second only to hardbound elementary textbooks (215.4). Is Maxwell now using scarcity pricing tactics on a market big enough to matter? I would suggest ALA might want to become involved in this, if we define it clearly enough. Wedgeworth may even want to revise the EALS report to point out the clear and present danger. RJR Nabisco cracker prices are up about 30 percent since the takeover; will Macmillan and HBJ textbooks, and ultimately our school boards, pay a similar price for lack of protection from foreign practitioners? I'd hate to be protectionist, but the old publishing game of "sell a few and sell them dear" is not appropriate for the textbook market, even when two players dominate the field.
20.3 EDITIONS BRIEL (CAMBRIDGE MA)
Bob Lincoln, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada;
BITNET: LINCOLN@CCM.UMANITOBA.CA.
I hope that some person on the network has some experience with Editions Briel in Massachusetts. I have written to the address and received information from them on their publications -- The Patristic Bible, and the Encyclopedia of Eastern Christianity. These items are of a serial nature, as they are still in the process of publication. The catch here is that all orders are to be prepaid, in U.S. funds, to the address in Cambridge. I called in February and was told there was no phone. Now, I find out that a phone has been installed, with a number, but they are so overwhelmed with work, no staff, etc., that phone calls are discouraged. The publisher and the associated publishers given are new to me, and I've been acquiring things for twenty years. This could be a legitimate offer, or it could not. The person at the press has written that 100 percent of all prepaid orders have been shipped if they were received before 15 January 1990, and 70 percent received between January 16 and February 15, 1990, have been shipped. The publisher and its holding company are negotiating for permanent office and warehouse space in New England. All orders at the moment are being shipped from three different warehouses outside of the U.S.
My question to you is, has any library here paid and received materials from this publisher? My instincts here are that this could be a very good offer, and acquisitions purchase, or that it could not. The address that I have received information from is: Editions Briel, 1430 Massachusetts Avenue, Suite 306-126, Cambridge MA 02138-3810; phone: (617) 498-9709. Any information would be appreciated. My e-mail id is: LINCOLN@CCM.UMANITOBA.CA. Thanks very much.
20.4 WHERE GOES THE DEUTSCH MARK?
Danny Jones, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 7703 Floyd Curl Drive, San Antonio TX 78284-7940; BITNET:
JONES@UTHSCSA.
I've heard conflicting speculation about the value of the Deutsch Mark next fall. Since about 25 percent of my serials budget goes to German publishers, I wonder if any one is following this issue and what it will mean to American library budgets? Perhaps publishers or vendors who read the newsletter could speculate on the possible scenarios and how they will affect serial prices for 1991.
20.5 ANY INFO OUT THERE?
Vince Courtney, State University of New York at Fredonia; BITNET:
COURTNEY@SNYFREBA
Our library staff are debating the value of attributing costs of serials to individual departments. Does any reader of the newsletter know of published or unpublished research or other papers tackling this issue? We're interested in both pro's and con's. Literature searches have pulled in very little that's useful. Send replies to my address (COURTNEY@SNYFREBA) and I'll synthesize for the newsletter, if there is interest. Thanks to all.
20.6 USBE: ALIVE AND WELL IN CLEVELAND, OHIO
Press release dated March 16, 1990.
The new management and owners of the Universal Serials and Book Exchange are pleased to announce that USBE is again in operation, ready to meet the needs of all libraries. During the first year of revived operations at the new location in Cleveland, USBE will waive membership fees to all libraries using its services. Membership fees will be re-instated in January, 1991.
Membership in USBE is open only to institutional, public, and corporate libraries and will enable libraries to purchase any serials held by USBE for the low flat rate of $7 per bibliographic issue, plus shipping charges. With holdings of more than five million back issues in all scholarly subjects and representative popular magazines and trade journals in stock, USBE is the logical first source for back issues.
Each member library will be entitled to one vote in USBE's annual election of advisory board members. Members will elect five advisors to consult with USBE's management on matters of importance to the membership community. Five librarians will be elected annually to the advisory board; the first election is anticipated for Spring, 1991.
USBE is currently preparing a booklet detailing services and policies; it will be sent to all libraries in the U.S.A. and Canada and to selected libraries elsewhere in the next few weeks.
Libraries using USBE's services are encouraged to send their duplicates and surplus to USBE. Such contributions will enable USBE to update stock continually and maintain a high success rate in supplying issues. USBE needs scholarly periodicals dated 1988 to present, especially in the fields of art, mathematics, economics and business, allied health sciences, physics, chemistry and biology.
USBE may be reached by phone at (216) 241-6960; FAX: (216) 241-6966. The USBE management team is headed by Marilyn Zubal who comes to USBE with nearly 25 years' experience in back issues work at John T. Zubal, Inc.
20.7 LIBRARIES FACE SERIALS CRISIS
Excerpts from an article in From the Librarian: the McGill University Libraries Newsletter (vol. 1, no. 1, Winter 1990), edited by Michael
Renshawe, Preservation and Collections Librarian, McGill University
Libraries, 3459 McTavish Street, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3A 1Y1;
BITNET: AD70@MCGILLA.
....Caused by rapidly increasing prices for subscriptions to serials, the crisis has severely affected every major research library, including McGill's.... What you may not be aware of is that the crisis is reaching a critical point at McGill. During the fiscal year 1988/1989 alone, McGill Libraries incurred a cumulative deficit of over $600,000 based entirely on subscription costs. Hundreds of subscriptions to useful duplicate or peripheral journals had to be cancelled. Libraries especially dependent upon STM journals, such as Health Sciences and Physical Sciences and Engineering, were foregoing monographic acquisitions in order to pay for serials. Price increases were so steep that much of the Libraries' monograph budget would have had to be diverted to serials, had not a special subvention of $628,000 been awarded by the Quebec government. This was the second, and final, year for such a special subvention, intended to shore up our weakened acquisition of scholarly monographs.
This year subscription costs continue to soar and the deficit is growing once again at the same alarming rate. Without additional funding from the University or the government, hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of solid academic journals will have to be cancelled with devastating effects on research and teaching....
We need your help. Ask editors and publishers to justify price increases for libraries. Encourage the return of journal publishing to learned societies. When possible, submit articles and papers to respected but less costly journals. Raise the cost issue at national and international gatherings of scholars. And most importantly, become aware of the costs libraries must pay in order to acquire the key journals in your discipline. Robert Maxwell, owner of Pergamon Press, has been quoted as believing that "scientists are not generally as price-conscious as other professionals, mainly because they are not spending their own money." Help us prove Mr. Maxwell wrong.
20.8 ACRL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY SECTION TO ADDRESS ACCESS TO SCIENTIFIC
INFORMATION AT 1990 ALA ANNUAL CONFERENCE
Press release dated March 19, 1990.
"Access for Success: AdDressing Scientific Information" is the theme for the 1990 ACRL Science and Technology Section (STS) program at the American Library Association's Annual Conference in June. Ivars Peterson, author of Mathematical Tourist: Snapshots of Modern Mathematics and mathematics and physics reporter for Science News, will be the keynote speaker of this program, which will take place Tuesday, June 26, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Mr. Peterson, whose keynote address is entitled "The Electronic Grapevine: The Changing Face of Scientific Communication," will discuss how computer networks, electronic mail and bulletin boards, and an ever-increasing number of facsimile machines are rapidly transforming the way scientists communicate ideas and research results.
Following Mr. Peterson's talk, the program will divide up into 6 different sessions led by various experts. Participants will select a total of 3 sessions to attend. Cynthia Bower of the University of Arizona will speak on "Current Trends in Federal Information Dissemination." Ms. Bower will review two major trends in the distribution of federal governmental information that have taken root in the past decade -- privatization and digitization. Implications for librarians and the researcher, as well as future developments in federal publishing, will be covered.
Margaret Lindman, Chair of the Curriculum and Instruction at Northeastern Illinois University, and Jill Althage, Director of the Curriculum Library at the same institution, will consider "The Library as a Launch Pad for Learning About Science." Dr. Lindman and Ms. Althage will present ideas, materials, and resources that can be used to intrigue young people and adults about science.
H. Robert Malinowsky, editor of Science and Technology Annual Reference Review and science librarian at the University of Illinois at Chicago, will discuss "Accessing Scientific Online Databases: Concerns and Issues."
"Conference Proceedings: The Reference Dilemma" is the title of Colleen Power's presentation. Ms. Power, librarian at California State University at Chico, is an expert on the role of conference papers in research and in library collections. Her talk will consider the problems of locating conference proceedings from a reference perspective.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Marcia Tuttle will discuss the cooperative strategies that librarians and scientists need to develop in order to combat the extremely high costs of access to scientific information, in "Librarians and Scientists: Divided we Fall."
Anna Wang of Ohio State University will speak on "The Library at Scientists' Fingertips: Issues Involved in Disseminating Scientific Information in Multiple Formats." Ms. Wang will examine the issues that libraries face in dealing with a variety of information formats, including microcomputer and CD-ROM applications, locally mounted databases, electronic conferences, licensing agreements, networking, copyright, resource sharing, bibliographic access, document delivery, and user education.
The 1990 STS Annual Program will conclude with a summary and wrap-up session led by members of the STS Conference Program Planning Committee. Over 500 people are expected to attend this year's program, the proceedings of which will be published by the American Library Association. For more information about the 1990 STS Conference Program, contact Caroline D. Harnly, Chair of the 1990 STS Program Planning Committee. Ms. Harnly may be reached at San Francisco State University, J. Paul Leonard Library, 1630 Holloway Avenue, San Francisco CA 94132; (415) 338-1454.
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Readers of the Newsletter on Serials Pricing Issues are encouraged to
share the information in the newsletter by electronic or paper
methods. We would appreciate credit if you quote from the newsletter.
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The Newsletter on Serials Pricing Issues (ISSN: 1046-3410) is published as news is available by the American Library Association's
Association for Library Collections and Technical Services, Publisher/Vendor-Library Relations Committee's Subcommittee on Serials Pricing 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 (Consultant),
Charles Hamaker (Louisiana State University), Robert Houbeck (University of Michigan), and Marcia Tuttle. EBSCONET customers may receive
the newsletter in paper format from EBSCO. Back issues of the newsletter are available electronically free of charge through BITNET from
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