NEWSLETTER ON SERIALS PRICING ISSUES

An ALCTS publication

NUMBER 32 -- February 4, 1991

Editor: Marcia Tuttle

ISSN: 1046-3410

CONTENTS

With so many people telling me the Newsletter is "on the cutting edge of electronic publishing," I began to believe it -- until I saw two of the items in this issue on electronic discussion groups several days ago. But even though we seem to have fallen off the cutting edge, I still believe that for this publication, the newsletter format is appropriate. Overall, my favorite format is the one Christian Boissonnas uses for ACQNET. He has editing and speed both. To subscribe send a message to Christian at CRI@CORNELLC.BITNET.

At ALA Midwinter last month the ALCTS Publisher/Vendor-Library Relations Committee disbanded (with my full concurrence) its Subcommittee on Serials Pricing Issues. The members were acting not as a committee, but as an editorial board for the Newsletter on Serials Pricing Issues. The following day the ALCTS Task Force on Editorial Policy for Electronic Publications formulated recommendations for the ALCTS Board of Directors, including appointment of a Newsletter editor for three years with one renewal permitted and the creation of an editorial advisory board consisting of three ALCTS members knowledgeable in the area of serials pricing and two persons from the serials industry. The recommendations were approved by the ALCTS board. The editorial advisory board has not yet been appointed, but this should happen shortly.

A message from Barbara Parker at the U.S. Naval Academy Library (q21030@n1.USNA.NAVY.MIL), who used the Newsletter in her periodicals cancellation project:

People here are starting to look forward to (the Newsletter), including the chair of the Faculty Library Committee. We've just done a $90,000 periodicals cut based on 1) high cost/low use and 2) is it availible via document delivery? The Faculty Library Committee seems to have bought the concept; now all they have to do is sell it to their colleagues (with a little help from the subject specialists and me). There's less resistance so far to document delivery on the part of faculty than I thought there would be, but it's still early in the game.

Here's another price increase announced through Faxon. The Journal of Applied Bacteriology, published by Blackwell Scientific for the Society of Applied Bacteriology, is increasing its price 53.5 percent, from $285 to $437.50 for 1991. The notification from Faxon does not indicate a change in frequency.

The following announcement was submitted by Doug Duchin at CUNY (DDUBB@CUNYVM.BITNET):

The Library Association of the City University of New York announces the LACUNY Institute, a 1-day conference for Friday, April 12, 1991, entitled "Collection Development: Survival Tactics in an Age of Less." The Institute will present a forward look at how we will be able to cope in the coming age of electronic publishing and electronic document delivery. Because the climate is changing, and the resources we have will hardly support traditional print collections, the Institute will address alternate and, perhaps, unconventional means of accessing information. Speakers in the morning, and a panel discussion in the afternoon, will address the problems of access vs. acquisition, collaborative collection development, and other possible survival tactics. The Institute will be held in New York City on Friday, April 12, 1991, and further details will be forthcoming.

I just noticed a comment in the last issue ... about what libraries are doing about introducing e-journals into libraries. Paul Metz of our staff has been chairing a task force for the last couple of months which is trying to answer those questions you have asked. I hope the report of the task force will be out soon. Also, Lon Savage of our Scholarly Publishing Project tells me that he has had a number of questions from libraries who are subscribing to our e-journal. He thinks libraries will be the organizations who will ultimately make the e-journal a success.

32.2 ACRL JOURNAL COSTS DISCUSSION GROUP
Mary Elizabeth Clack, Harvard College Library, DataLinx: CLACKMB.

The ALA ACRL Journal Cost Discussion Group was held on Sunday, January 13, 1991 from 9:30 to 11:00 am at the Swiss Grand Hotel, Chicago IL. Four speakers addressed the topic of serial cancellations and budgeting strategies, effects on collections, currency fluctuation, and strategies for the future. The session was coordinated and moderated by Robert Houbeck (University of Michigan).

Joe Barker of the University of California, Berkeley, spoke on projecting annual budgets for 1990/91. For serials, Berkeley's projections in June 1990 took into account the 1989/90 expenditure, inflation and currency decline. Projected monograph funds were calculated by taking the remainder of the budget and subtracting inflation (here 5.5 percent). The ratio of serials to monographs in 1990/91 was 73:27. Policies protecting serial and monograph orders were removed. The collection development budget request in June cited a need for approximately $1 million to implement collection development policy at a restrained level.

Barker then described the strategies and actions taken by the library to address the realities of August 1990: a flat materials budget (no increase), the dollar sliding to a new low, a potential 13 to 15 percent rate of inflation for serials (according to subscription agents' predictions), and university officials mandating cuts to every program.

During the allocation process period (August to November) cuts were allocated to both monographs and serials. Twelve percent of serials ($420,000) would be cancelled by October 15, 1990. The following support actions were taken:

1) intense communication with selectors to garner their support and ensure fairness;

2) support lent by Systems and Technical Services (management reports; processing of 3,000 cancellations in 6 weeks);

3) policy leadership by the AUL for Collection Development (with goals of reducing duplication, strengthening cooperative agreements, supporting primary programs, updating collections policy -- reviewing all approaches to acquisitions, etc.);

4) communication with faculty and the larger university community.

The 12 percent target was, in fact, met by October 15, with suggestions that if future serial cancellations were required, more lead time would be desirable. Among library staff, there was enthusiasm for reviewing collection policy and increased recognition that collections policies must be aligned with Berkeley's new Primary Clientele policy for public service.

The Library Administration was required by the Vice Chancellor to transfer $300,000 to Collections from other library programs. This and the 12 percent serials cut brought the budget to a 65:35 serials: monographs ratio, about the same as in 1989/90.

Barker then outlined projections for the 1991/92 budget, factoring in moderate inflation (9 percent for serials and 5.5 percent for monographs), retention of $300,000, no reinstatement of serials, and average U.S. dollar decline of 7.5 percent for foreign titles.

"Possible denouements" include:

1) reductions in the budget reaching new highs (20 percent fewer monograph purchases than ever remembered at Berkeley);

2) cutting another 12 percent (or more) of serial subscriptions;

3) intervention from the university in terms of additional funds;

4) discovering Berkeley's predictions are too severe (which would still require significant increases).

In closing, Barker stated that the impact was much more dramatic at Berkeley and got more positive results, because librarians had managed to cope with minimal cuts for several years before hitting the wall this year. He said that Berkeley would "not go softly into the future."

Karen Schmidt of the University of Illinois looked at the effect of serial cancellations on the collections themselves. She fears that the "flagship libraries'" collections will not recover, citing irreversible damage to scholarship and our intellectual future. At Illinois, for example, 70 percent of the cancellations for 1990/91 are unique to the collection, and the sciences are deeply affected. Schmidt shared figures for fiscal years 1987 through 1990 for:

1) the total amount cancelled by discipline (social sciences, sciences, humanities and general categories);

2) the total serials budget by discipline;

3) the total percent change in the serials budget; and

4) the percent cancelled by each discipline as part of the total budget.

Schmidt concluded her presentation by describing efforts to compile a "Big 10" serial cancellation union list to determine which unique titles are being cancelled.

Gayle Garlock of the University of Toronto presented the Canadian perspective on currency fluctuations. He pointed out that Canadian serials budgets are more vulnerable than U.S. libraries' budgets because foreign titles purchased by Canadian libraries include U.S. titles and thus 90 to 95 percent of the collection at Toronto is affected by foreign exchange rates.

Garlock then described the currency protection model at the University of Toronto developed in 1986. The goal of the model is to enable the library to maintain the buying power of fiscal year 1979/80. This is accomplished by factoring in price increase adjustments and protection from currency fluctuation. Garlock used an example to illustrate the model which incorporates a benchmark exchange rate for six currencies (U.S., U.K., Germany, Holland, Japan, and France) and calculation of the monthly debit or credit to the library. The advantage in the short term is that the major variable of currency fluctuation is eliminated, creating a more stable budgetary environment. In the long term, however, Garlock admitted that the fundamental problem is not solved by finding more money. He cited the need to continue to explore all viable alternatives to the problem of serials price increases. (Garlock's model has been published in ARL SPEC KIT no. 147, "Serials Control.")

Michael Keller of Yale University began by outlining coping strategies used to date: serial cancellations, currency fluctuation protection, and taking money from endowments and/or from personnel budgets. The RLG Collection Development Committee has been compiling long term serials lists of titles needed to support in-depth research (not solely "core" titles). Lists for Chemistry, Mathematics and Business have been completed; lists for Geology, Physics and German literature are being compiled. These lists can be used to protect important subscriptions.

Keller described some seemingly radical projects for libraries willing to provide access at the article level. One idea would be for a library to "buy into" another library's collection, by purchasing "access" to articles from another institution's collection. Factors such as delivery time and quality of reproductions would have to be considered. Another strategy would be for a university to take a fiduciary interest in the results of research at that university. Also, experimentation with alternative means of distribution of the results of research, as suggested in the ARL report, should be done through a university's distributed networks. Electronic abstracting and indexing services can also be used.

Keller concluded by noting some trends and countertrends. Further consolidation of large for-profit publishers will occur. Fewer publishers will be publishing more or less the same number of journals, using more marketing ploys such as "cloned titles," issuing supplemental invoices and increasing prices. Keller does see countertrends such as the existence of more small publishers in narrow niches, with no layers of management. Electronic journals will have to address problems with document transmission machinery and the refereeing process. An encouraging trend is the NSF's requiring only five articles for its proposals.

In the question and answer period, Ann Okerson of the Association of Research Libraries gave an update on some ongoing activities in the Office of Scientific and Academic Publishing, particularly with respect to changes in the traditional ways by which research libraries have delivered scientific journal information:

1) In a joint venture, three of the SUNY (State University of New York) libraries have received a grant to study and improve document delivery to patrons. (For a report on this project, Newsletter on Serials Pricing Issues, no. 25. -Ed.) In this particular experiment, a group of some 200 current subscriptions have been sequestered and patrons seeking material from these journals must request them via interlibrary loan. The pilot project examines accelerated delivery between the participants via high-quality FAX. If successful, the project will lead to greater resource sharing between SUNY campuses and may lead to some re-definition of the idea of a "subscription." Generally subscriptions are for a single institution with occasional sharing via interlibrary loan. However, in this specific setting, some future subscriptions will be purposefully multi-institutional and may lead publishers to establish a different tier of charging.

2) Several organizations are examining the possible need for national scientific information delivery, in addition to the two national science libraries (NAL and NLM) systems already in existence. The National Academy of Sciences has issued a study award to King Associates. The Library of Congress has established an internal task force to explore its role in science information delivery, and ARL is also establishing an ad hoc group to determine needs and opportunities.

3) We are beginning to see the development of electronic publishing. There are many bulletin boards and lists which are an outlet for informal communications. In addition, about a dozen networked electronic journals are emerging in various disciplines.

4) ARL is compiling a database of some 10,000 key scientific journal editors, derived from editorial pages of major journals. This listing of the "gatekeepers" of the literature will serve a variety of purposes; it will be available to ARL directors in late 1991.

5) The National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges (NASULGC), in its November 1990 resolution supporting ARL and urging action on the serials "crisis," has proposed a national task force from key scholarly organizations to address the questions of journal prices, access, and ownership.

32.3 UPDATE ON EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF MINERALOGY SUPPLEMENTS Eleanor Cook, Appalachian State University; COOKEI@APPSTATE.BITNET.

Here is an update for the Newsletter on the unwanted supplements to European Journal of Mineralogy. I received a prompt reply from a representative of E. Schweizerbart'sche Verlag. They believe such supplements are "indispensable" to all subscribers. However, since they do not want to have "annoyed customers," I have been instructed to return the supplements and a credit will be sent to our vendor.

The following is an excerpt of the reply I sent along with the material:

We plan to reinstate our subscription ... in 1991 with the understanding that we will NOT receive supplements that must be paid for separately. If supplements are issued WITHIN the volume numbering, we should receive them as part of our subscription and not have to pay extra.

Please understand that Appalachian State University is not a large research library and we have a tight budget. Further, research presented in your supplements is of little use to our faculty if it is not in the English language (the supplements are in German, while the main title is primarily English).

32.4 THE RIGHT WAY TO DO IT!
Eleanor Cook, Appalachian State University, COOKEI@APPSTATE.BITNET.

We just today received correspondence from Scanning Microscopy International. In my opinion, THIS is the way they all should do it! Give us a clear choice! Scanning Microscopy International
Post Office Box 66507
Chicago (A.M.F. O'Hare) IL 60666-0507 USA

Dear Librarian,

We have received your renewal for the subscription for Scanning Microscopy volume 5, 1991 through the Faxon Company.

Our publicity material (sent to your subscription agent also stated:

*IMPORTANT: A new quarterly journal Cells and Materials (ISSN: 1051-6794, covering morphology and microanalysis of tissues, cells, materials and their interfaces) will start publication with vol. 1, no. 1 in March 1991. The subscribers to Scanning Microscopy can get the four issues of volume 1 of Cells and Materials at no additional charge PROVIDED THEY SPECIFICALLY ASK FOR THEM WHEN PAYING FOR THEIR 1991 SUBSCRIPTION.

With best regards,

Om Johari, Managing Editor,
Scanning Microscopy Publications

P.S. For your information, Scanning Microscopy vol. 4, no. 3 1990 issue was shipped on November 9; issue 4 will follow in late December.

32.5 SEARCHING BY ISSN
Margaret McKinley, UCLA, ECZ5MCK@UCLAMVS.BITNET.

I read with great interest in Issue 31 your account of checking in and processing incoming material during late December. I, too, checked in and processed incoming material during the same time period. While I was able to check in using our locally-developed system, ORION, I remember very well the days when we used a Kardex file. The difference can only be appreciated if one has had to locate complex corporate entries in a very large Kardex.

What I appreciate most especially, however, is our capability to find online records by using ISSN as search terms. Not only does this save time in check-in, but it is also less expensive in terms of machine costs. Because searching for records via ISSN is so embarrassingly easy, I am particularly grateful to the publishers of those international journals that you mentioned for displaying ISSN prominently on their covers.

I might suggest to other publishers, who have not yet realized the importance of ISSN, that they consider featuring their own ISSN regularly on the covers of their journals. We will certainly remember those who do so in our prayers and will speak well of them wherever bibliographers and other selectors gather.

32.6 NASIG 6TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE PROGRAM, JUNE 14-17, 1991, TRINITY UNIVERSITY, SAN ANTONIO TX.
Ann Okerson, Association of Research Libraries, OKERSON@UMDC.BITNET.

Overall theme: A CHANGING WORLD

Plenary sessions:

Timothy B. King, Vice President, Marketing & Sales, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York: "Impact of Electronic and Networking Technologies on Delivering Scholarly Information."

Charles W. Bailey, Jr., Assistant Director for Systems, University of Houston Libraries; "Network-Based Electronic Serials."

Anne B. Pitternick, Professor, School of Library and Archival Studies, University of British Columbia: "Electronic Serials; Realistic or Unrealistic Solution to the Journals 'Crisis'?"

John F. Riddick, Head of Acquisitions Services, Central Michigan University Library: "Europe 1992; Implications for Scholarly Publishing and Distribution."

Edward Kasinec, Head, Slavonic Department, New York Public Library: "Emerging Eastern Europe; Radical Information Changes."

Margarita Almada de Asencia, Director, Centro de Informacion Cientifica y Humanistica, Mexico City: "Scholarly Information and Serials in Latin America; Shifting Political Sands."

Charles B. Lowry, Director of Libraries, University of Texas at Arlington: "Professional Responsibilities in a Changing World; Issues and Dilemmas."

Wrapup: Dan Tonkery, President and CEO, Readmore, Inc., New York.

WORKSHOPS: NASIG Conference participants may attend two workshops each on Saturday and Sunday afternoon.

2. "Marketing a New Social Science/Humanities Journal to Libraries, Then and Now." Patricia Scarry, Associate Journals Manager and Marketing Manager, Journals Division, University of Chicago Press.

3. "SUPER-OPAC: Records for Articles and Chapters in Your Catalog." Bradley D. Carrington, Head of Cataloging, University of Kentucky Libraries.

4. "Periodicals Receiving Unit and Public Service Areas: A Productive Combination." Roseann Bazirjian, Head, Acquisitions, Syracuse University Library.

5. "The Continuations Saga: Converting Non-Periodical Serials." Joan Luke, Serials/Microforms Librarian and Assistant Head, Acquisitions Department, Georgia State University Library AND Steve Murden, Assistant Head, Acquisitions Services, Virginia Commonwealth University Library.

6. "Interfacing Automated Environments: Linking the Integrated Library System." Lynne Branche Brown, Acquisitions/Serials Librarian, Raytheon AND Katherine Hughes, Serials Librarian, Loyola University Medical Center Library.

7. "Conversion to Automated Serials Control Systems: From the Drawing Board to the Front Lines." Tricia L. Davis, Head, Continuation Acquisitions Division, Ohio State University AND James L. Huesmann, Serials Librarian, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Library.

8. "Replacement Issues: Where Do You Find Them and at What Cost?" Beth Holley, Head, Acquisitions Department, University of Alabama Library AND Susan Malawski, Director, Subscription Fulfillment and Distribution, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. AND John T. Zubal, President, USBE.

9. "How Vendors Assess Service Charges and a Publisher's View of Discounts to Vendors." N. Bernard (Buzzy) Basch, Consultant AND John Breithaupt, Director-General, Marketing, Association Management and Distribution Services, Allen Press AND Tina Feick, U.S. Serials Specialist, Blackwell's Periodicals Division.

2. "Case Study: Society Journal Published by Commercial Publisher." Jolanda von Hagen, Managing Director, Springer Verlag, Heidelberg.

3. "Multiple Versions Cataloging and Preservation Microfilming for Brittle Issues of Serials." Steve Savage, Head, Periodicals, Newspapers and Microforms Department, University of Kentucky Libraries AND Mitch Turitz, Serials Librarian, San Francisco State University.

4. "The Impact of Electronic Journals on Traditional Library Services." Mary Beth Fecko, Special Formats Catalog Librarian, Rutgers University Libraries AND Linda Langschied, Coordinator, Nonbibliographic Database and PC Services, Rutgers University Libraries.

5. "Journal Contents Online: Patron Use and Implications for Reference Service." Melissa B. Bradley, Acquisitions Librarian, Denver Public Library AND Patricia M. Wallace, Head, Serials Department, University of Colorado Libraries.

6. "An Introduction to the Structure of ANSI X12 and a Tutorial on X12 Mapping for Serials Related Transactions." Christopher Beckett, Product Manager, Blackwell's Periodicals Division AND Sharon Cline McKay, Director of Library Services, EBSCO AND Fritz Schwartz, Manager, EDI Group, The Faxon Company.

7. "Job Descriptions vis a vis Job Applications: A Match Often Not Made in Heaven." Carole McIver, Administrative Services Librarian, University of North Carolina at Charlotte Library AND Lois N. Upham, Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of South Carolina College of Library and Information Science.

8. "Serial Claims: Three Perspectives, Library/Publisher/Vendor." Gary Brown, Midwestern Regional Representative, The Faxon Company AND Julia Gammon, Head, Acquisitions Department, University of Akron Library AND Peter McKay, Sales and Marketing Director, Harcourt, Brace and Jovanovich, Ltd.

9. "Acquiring and Cataloging the Elusive Latin American Serial." Nelly S. Gonzalez, Director, Latin American Services, University of Illinois Library AND Rosa Q. Mesa, Librarian, Latin American Collection, University of Florida Libraries AND Scott Van Jacob, Serials Librarian, Dickinson College.

FOR ANNUAL CONFERENCE INFORMATION, REGISTRATION, AND PROGRAM, CONTACT:

Daniel H. Jones, Local Arrangements
Assistant Library Director for Collection Development
University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
7703 Floyd Curl Drive
San Antonio TX 78284-7940
Telephone: 512 567-2400
Telefax: 512 567-2490
E-mail: JONES@UTHSCSA.BITNET

FOR INFORMATION ABOUT NASIG MEMBERSHIP, CONTACT:

Ann B. Vidor, NASIG Treasurer
Head, Catalog Department
Emory University
Woodruff Library
Atlanta GA 30322
Telephone: 404 727-6833
Telefax: 404 727-0053
E-mail: LIBABV@EMUVM1.BITNET

32.7 POSTAL INSPECTOR LOOKING INTO COMPLAINTS REGARDING EDITIONS BRIEL
Richard Jasper, Emory University, and Chair, ALCTS Publisher/ Vendor-Library Relations Committee, LIBRPJ@EMUVM1.BITNET.

The Publisher/Vendor-Library Relations Committee of the Association for Library Collections & Technical Services, a division of the American Library Association, has been informed by the U.S. Postal Service that it is looking into complaints about Editions Briel, a Cambridge MA-based publisher, regarding non-fulfillment of prepaid orders.

According to Stephen Rothemich, a U.S. Postal Inspector in Boston, the Postal Service as a result of these complaints has issued a stop order against Editions Briel's postal address, which is 1430 Massachusetts Avenue, Suite #306-126, Cambridge MA 02138-3810. Rothemich indicated that all mail sent to the Editions Briel address, which is a mail drop in Cambridge's Harvard Square, would be held until such time as the stop order is lifted or the box is closed.

The Postal Service, according to Rothemich, had scheduled an administrative/civil hearing of the matter in Washington DC, then postponed the hearing at the request of Editions Briel's attorney. He expected the hearing to be rescheduled. If, as a result of the hearing, a decision is made to close the Editions Briel address, the mail currently being held will be returned to sender, Rothemich said.

Rothemich asked that anyone having an interest in this matter, particularly those who prepaid orders to Editions Briel, to contact him at the following address/telephone number:

Stephen Rothemich, Postal Inspector
P.O. Box 2217
Boston MA 02205-2217
Phone: 617 439-3605

Likewise, librarians experiencing similar problems with non-fulfillment of prepaid orders may report their complaints to PVLR by completing and returning the PVLR complaint form, available from the ALCTS Office, 50 East Huron Street, Chicago IL 60611. PVLR will forward such complaints to the U.S. Postal Service as appropriate.

As has been often repeated, PVLR suggests that librarians exercise the utmost caution in prepaying orders so that they may avoid possible non-fulfillment problems.

32.8 RECOMMENDED READING
Pat Berger, NIST, BOND@NBSENH.BITNET.

There's an interesting report in the 7 December 1990 issue of Science (pp. 1331-32) entitled "Publishing by -- and for? -- the Numbers." The reporter, David P. Hamilton, cites ISI's figures that of the scientific papers published between 1981 and 1985 in journals indexed by ISI, 55 percent of them received zero citations the first five years after publication. Timothy Springer of Harvard is quoted as saying that if the ISI percentage is on target, then "It indicates too much is published." The University of Michigan's President Duderstadt opined that "It is pretty strong evidence of ... the kinds of pressures which drive people to stress number of publications rather than quality of publications." He could have added that the two surest ways to earn citations, early and often, are:

1. Infuriate -- even just annoy -- Linus Pauling.

2. Publish rotten data or bone-headed conclusions, or both.

Hamilton also informs his readers that "the publishing industry is at least partly responsible" for this unfortunate state of affairs because "the number of scholarly journals has risen" from 70K to 108.6K over the last 20 years. This plus steep subscription price increases have forced ARL libraries to reduce their journal holdings to approximately 26 percent of the total available.

If you haven't done so already, be sure to read Colleen Cordes' article in the January 23, 1991 issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education. It begins on page A1 and describes passably well the paranoia in Congress over ties between U.S. universities and foreign companies and institutions. Some day before I die I hope to figure out why Congress yawns as Federal libraries are contracted out to foreign firms but has a cow if an academic type so much as passes the time of day with her/- his foreign counterpart!

In the January, 18, 1991 issue of Science there is a provocative report on pages 266-67, entitled, "Science Literacy: The Enemy is Us." Boy, do the nuclear physicists and biochemists around here need to read it and heed it! Also, Koshland's editorial on page 249, "Teaching and Research," ain't half bad. But the really scary report begins on page 260 and ends on page 263 and is entitled, "The Rush to Publish." It speaks scary volumes about what's happening to the peer/editorial review process in fast-breaking areas of science.

32.9 RESPONSE TO ANNE MCKEE FROM AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY
Submitted by Anne McKee, Arizona State University West Campus.

December 20, 1990

Dear Ms. McKee:

Thank you for your November 13 letter expressing concern about the 1991 institutional subscription price to Analytical Chemistry. We certainly understand and share your concerns about the financial difficulties that science libraries face with their 1991 budgets. I hope this letter will explain the financial factors that face us as publishers and that have led to this year's significant price increase.

Analytical Chemistry is one of our highest quality research journals. Unlike most other ACS journals, it has a separate magazine section in addition to a large volume of peer-reviewed research. In the past it has received a large and substantial volume of advertising income. This income subsidized extremely low subscription prices that made Analytical Chemistry, on a price per equivalent page basis, one of the lowest priced journals in the world. Unfortunately, increased competition from a growing number of free-circulation magazines, that do not have the expense of publishing peer-reviewed research articles, has dramatically reduced the volume of advertising appearing in Analytical Chemistry. The current projected level of advertising income can no longer support the low subscription price that institutions like yours have enjoyed in the past. The percentage increase of 390 percent is high. However, the dollar increase of $230 from last year's $59 to $289 is not excessive. It buys more than 4000 published pages, appearing in 24 timely issues at a unit cost of less than seven cents a page. In the long-term, if advertising revenue continues to decline, the institutional subscription price for Analytical Chemistry will have to reach the even higher price levels of our other journals.

In your letter, you also raised a question about the timing of our increase. Our journals prices are set by our Publications Committee and our Board of Directors in the late spring and early summer. In order to assist our customers in their budgeting for the following year, our journal price list is mailed in July to our institutional subscribers and our subscription agents. Renewal notices, however, are not mailed until October.

I hope this letter has provided you with an answer to your questions. I do appreciate hearing about your concerns and would be glad to address any questions that may have been raised by my response to your letter.

Sincerely,

Randall E. Wedin, Head
Publications Division
Special Publications Department
American Chemical Society
1155 Sixteenth Street NW
Washington DC 20036

32.10 DIFFERENT EDITIONS OF AMERICAN JOURNAL OF NURSING
Susan Libby, Hospital Librarian, The Moncton Hospital, 135 MacBeath Avenue, Moncton, N.B. E1C 6Z8 Canada.

November 7, 1990

Ms. Mary B. Mallison, R.N.
Editor, AMERICAN JOURNAL OF NURSING
555 West 57th Street
New York NY 10019-2961 USA

Dear Ms. Mallison:

I am writing you to protest in the strongest possible terms the decision to publish different editions of the American Journal of Nursing.

When I recently discovered -- quite by accident -- that some American Journal of Nursing articles were missing from my library's issues of the journal, I phoned your office in an attempt to find out what was going on. The person to whom I spoke mentioned a "hospital edition" and a "library edition," but could not explain to me how many editions there are, what are the differences among them, and who decides which subscribers will receive which edition. I wonder which of the two editions mentioned above should be supplied to my hospital library?

Your staff member offered replacement issues for the first half of the year, and the five issues which she did send me have just arrived. Upon examining them and comparing them to the issues which were sent as part of our subscription, I am no less perturbed.

It appears that the only way to tell one edition from another is to look for a series of stars at the base of the spine of each issue. Some issues now before me have three stars, some have four, and some have none. What is the difference between four-star, three-star, or no-star editions? Are there one-star and two-star editions as well? If so, what is in them?

I have received five "replacement" issues from the first half of 1990. The January "replacement" has no stars and appears to be the same as the one we originally received. Does this mean that there was only one edition of the January issue -- or was I sent the wrong edition?

The February and June replacements are three-star issues. In each case the three-star issue has exactly four extra pages -- and three of these are advertisements. The ONE extra page of text includes, in the case of the June issue, a section called "Critical Questions," which is not mentioned anywhere in the table of contents. Allow me to suggest to you that the questions cannot be all that critical if it is not necessary to include them in all editions of the journal, nor to mention them in the table of contents of the edition in which they do appear! In the case of the February issue, the extra page of text is a continuation of the "Clinical News" section, but the individual reports on the extra page are not listed on the contents page as is the case with the two reports from the first "Clinical News" page which is common to both editions. Looking at the contents pages of the various February and June issues, it is impossible to distinguish between the editions; this can only be done by a page-by-page comaprison of the issues.

My March and May replacements are four-star editions. They each contain a separate multi-page section called "Today's Nurse Manager" which -- wonder of wonders -- IS included in the contents page.

Your staff member who sent the replacement issues assured me that I would not need any other replacements beyond the first half of 1990, because I would by now be receiving the "complete" -- whatever that means -- edition of each issue. All I can say in response is that to date none of the issues we have received on our subscription have any stars on the spines at all.

I would be most grateful if you could give me a coherent explanation of the present publishing program for the American Journal of Nursing and the reasons why this program has been instituted. Have you and your editorial board any conception of -- or any interest in -- the trouble and confusion you are causing to nurses, researchers, and librarians with your present publishing policy? How many editions are being published of each monthly issue? Is there such a thing as a COMPLETE edition which includes all the extra pages? Who decides which editions will be sent to which subscribers? Why were subscribers not consulted as to which edition they would prefer? Why do I and my nurses not have a right to the same pages as are sent to other subscribers? Have we not paid the same price for our subscriptions?

I feel that subscribers have the right to expect that if they order and pay for the American Journal of Nursing that is what they will receive. I am sure that is what we have all assumed -- until now. When those who depend on the American Journal of Nursing for quality nursing literature discover that what they have is incomplete, there will be endless difficulty in obtaining the bits that are missing especially since all the sources to which readers will apply will also have assumed that they have received the "complete" journal, and each will in turn make the painful discovery that they have been deceived....

32.11 HAMAKER'S HAYMAKERS
Chuck Hamaker, Louisiana State University, NOTCAH@LSUVM.BITNET.

Several articles appearing in places librarians may not look at regularly help shed some light on current trends. First is an article by Margaret Morrison, who is the Council on Library Resources Intern at the University of Chicago's Regenstein Library. She reports in Information Standards Quarterly 3, 1 (January 1991): 9-10 in "Electronic Scholarly Journals" on the conference held on October 8, 1990 in Raleigh dubbed the first meeting of the "Association of Electronic Scholarly Journals." The meeting was hosted by Ann Okerson of ARL's OSAP and Susan K. Nutter, Director of Libraries, North Carolina State University. Margaret Morrison represented ISO TC 46/sc 9 WI117, Citations to Electronic Documents (that's International Standards Organization's Work Item 117: Citations, etc.). Although there have been other reports of the meeting, the perspective on this one is worth taking a glance at.

Plan on reading the February 2 issue of Publishers Weekly for an excellent article by Kendon Stubbs, AUL at the University of Virginia, and Ann Okerson of ARL. If the article survives the editor's knife substantially unrevised, I intend to use it as a great summary introduction for faculty who still haven't figured out that the whole system of support and prestige they have come to take for granted has changed radically. It is good enough for deans to forward to administrators, to other deans, and to the Physics chairperson.

, January 7, 1991, bears an article to be aware of, explaining some of the ins and outs of current NSF discussions concerning overhaul of the grant system. Just to know what science faculty are facing in changes in one of their major support systems, collection development and serials people should take a look at the article by Jeffrey Mervic on pages 1, 7, etc. Thanks to Ann Okerson for alerting us to these three items and providing a preprint of the PW article.

Wall Street Journal (January 23, 1991) B1 "Marketplace" contains an article by Michael W. Miller, "Lotus Likely to Abandon Consumer-Data Project." Lotus Development announced plans to drop a software product containing shopping habits and personal data about 120 million households. The product, a combination of data from EQUIFAX, a giant Atlanta credit-reporting operation that could pinpoint whether individual families had dogs or cats, and basic ZIP code type data (down to the block level) resulted in a storm of protests because the data would be available on compact disk for even the smallest marketers. Complaints and protest letters were posted and copied on hundreds of networks. Opponents circulated Lotus' phone number and Jim Manzi, Lotus CEO, had his e-mail address posted on bulletin boards by protestors. An 800 number resulted in about 30,000 requests from people asking that their personal data be deleted.

"Harcourt Seeks a Purchaser for Entire Firm,"Wall Street Journal, January 23, 1991, page A4. Weakened by Robert Maxwell's attempt to purchase the company, HBJ, with 4.5 billion dollars in liability and an asset value of 3.1 billion dollars is seeking a purchaser for the whole firm, not just pieces, as they previously attempted. Topping the list of potential buyers is K-III holdings, a partnership controlled by investment banker Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Company. K-III is run by William Reilly, who was president of U.S. Macmillan Inc. when Maxwell bought the company in 1988 after failing to acquire HBJ. HBJ's debt was a result of attempting to drive Maxwell away. They succeeded, but now, the question is clearly, wasn't the price too high? As the largest textbook publisher in America, the fall of HBJ has implications for more than libraries.

And talking about large, what well known owner of a southern book jobber is now in Forbes's list of the 400 richest people in America?? Answer: Erskine Bronson Ingram, checking into the list for the first time at number 181. Forbes says he is in "barges; book distribution," with 2.1 billion in revenues, over 80 percent from distribution of books, videos, computer hardware and software. So tell us it ain't a profitable end of the business, all you vendors.

Be prepared for book vendors to moan about the rising cost of postage. But ask them how they really ship. Few, in our experience, are really using the mails for book shipments.

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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. 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. Editorial Advisory Board to be appointed. The Newsletter is available on BITNET, DataLinx, and ALANET. EBSCONET customers may receive the Newsletter in paper format from EBSCO. Readmore Academic customers receive the Newsletter in paper format from Readmore. Back issues of the Newsletter are available electronically free of charge through BITNET from the editor.
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