45.2 1993 JOURNAL PRICE PROJECTION UPDATE , Faxon Company
45.3 FROM THE EDITOR , Marcia Tuttle
45.4 SHAPING OUR FUTURE , Jill O'Neill
45.5 ISSN: 0964-1955 , William Leazer
45.6 COMMENTS ON HAMAKER'S HAYMAKERS , Lelde Gilman
Chuck Hamaker, Louisiana State University, NOTCAH@LSUVM.BITNET.
Elsevier/Pergamon set their exchange rates on August 12. The news is as bad as predicted.
For Dutch Guilder:
US $1.00 = Dfl 1.66
(last year U.S. $1.00 = Dfl 2.02)
or Dfl 1.00 = US $.60
(Last year DFL 1.00= $.495
Increase in the dollar price because of currency fluctuation alone = 21.6%
for Elsevier Science Publishers B.V. (i.e. Amsterdam titles).-----
For Pound Sterling:
Pound Sterling 1.00 = US $1.90
(Last Year pound sterling 1.00 = US $1.60)
or US $1.00 = .63 Pound Sterling
(Last Year US dollar = .53 Pound Sterling)
Increase in dollar price for Pergaman for currency fluctuation alone = 19%-----
French Franc
US $1.00 = FFr. 5.00
(Last year U.S. $1.00 = FFr.6.15)
FFr. 1.00= US $.20
(Last year FFr. 1.00= U.S. $.162
Increase in dollar price for Edition Scientifiques Elsevier because of currency fluctuation alone = 23%.
To these BASE increases must be added the actual increase in country of origin currency. And we have been told to assume 10% to 12%. This means overall, for example, the Amsterdam journals would average a 28%-30% in- crease in dollar prices.
45.2 1993 JOURNAL PRICE PROJECTION UPDATE (August 17, 1992)
The Faxon Company, Academic Information Service Center, 15 Southwest Park, Westwood MA 02090.
Based on the latest information on publisher price increases, the current value of the US dollar, and fixed currency exchange rates set by major European publishers, Faxon is revising our earlier price projections (last version dated June 22, 1992).
Page Currency Total
Inflation Increases Exchange Increase
US Published Titles 4.0% 5.5% 0.0% 9.5%
Non-US Published Titles 4.5% 6.0% 18.0% 28.5%
(Publishers with Fixed
Currency Exchange Rates)
Non-US Published Titles 4.5% 5.5% 5.0% 15.0%
(Publishers with Variable
Currency Exchange Rates)
The differences from our earlier projections are due solely to an increase in the currency exchange factor because of the weaker US dollar. Early in this year economic experts predicted a continued strong US dollar. The sluggishness of economic recovery both in the US and in the rest of the world has, to the contrary, had a negative effect on the US dollar.
Based on our new projections, a typical academic library with a 50% US and 50% non-US collection can expect *an overall increase in the range of 16 to 19%*. Libraries with a higher proportion of non-US titles should, of course, expect a higher rate of increase.
Marcia Tuttle, tuttle@gibbs.oit.unc.edu or TUTTLE@UNC.BITNET.
The difference between Chuck Hamaker's figures and Faxon's needs to be explained. Faxon's Dutch Guilder increase figure measures how much the Guilder has strengthened. Hamaker.s analysis shows how much the US dollar has weakened. For example, if the 1993 price is $122.00, then 22% more dollars are needed if the original price was $100.00. But $22.00 is 18% of $122.00.
Regarding the final paragraph of Faxon's statement, shouldn't we think in terms of percentage of dollars spent, US and foreign, instead of number of titles? That is, if 50% of our money goes for foreign titles, we can expect a 16-19% increase; if, however, the library has many expensive foreign journals, particularly from non-US publishers having fixed currency exchange rates, we can expect a higher increase.
45.4 SHAPING OUR FUTURE: SSP SEMINAR
Jill O'Neill, SSP Education Committee Chair, Elsevier Science Publishing Company, 655 Avenue of the Americas, New York NY 10010.
The Society for Scholarly Publishing (SSP) is sponsoring a participatory seminar, _Shaping Our Future_, September 16-17, devoted to the cooperative exploration of the scholarly communication process and how all participants in that process must cooperate for survival. Recognizing the interdependence of the librarian, the scholar, the publisher and the administrator, participants will hear speakers evaluate pressing problems within the communication chain and then join in integrated work groups to offer realistic evaluations of possible answers.
The seminar will be held at the Lafayette Hotel in Boston, Massachusetts (617 451-2600). Registration for SSP members before September 1 is $195.00, for nonmembers $245.00. Contact the Society for Scholarly Publishing at 303 422-3914 or fax at 303 422-3914.
45.5 ISSN: 0964-1955. The Subscription Agent's Dilemma
William Leazer, Vice President Majors Scientific Subscriptions, MAJORLEA@CLASS.ORG.
ISSN: 0964-1955. Advance announcements called this the _European Journal of Cancer Part B - Oral Oncology_. The first issue arrived today. The spine has:
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF CANCER (ORAL ONCOLOGY)
with
Volume 28B, Number 1, Pages 1-86
as well as 28B
___
1
The cover has:
E
J
C
ORAL ONCOLOGY
There are two decorative "O"s slanting across the cover, supposedly representing _Oral Oncology_.
Inside front cover has:
ORAL ONCOLOGY
European Journal of Cancer Part B
Editorial page has:
E
J
C
Page identification begins Oral Oncol, Eur J Cancer, Vol. 28B, No 1, pp....
The Editorial itself refers only to _Oral Oncology_.
I want to list this as it was announced, primarily because while it is available on a separate subscription from Part A, Part A is not available as a separate subscription without Part B. Price is listed in the front matter for A & B: $1,525.00. Price for Part B alone (SA) is $105.00. (Could not locate frequency for Part B anywhere in the front matter, either.)
With so many choices, I'll stick with the original announcement and be sure to cross reference so I can find the title when it is requested as _Oral Oncology_ alone.
How would a librarian classify?
45.6 COMMENTS ON HAMAKER'S HAYMAKERS
Lelde Gilman, UCLA, ECZ5LBG@UCLAMVS.BITNET.
Regarding Chuck Hamaker's recent concern about Elsevier, et al. "taking huge profit ... cutting vendor discounts .... accelerating the destabilization of the STM journal system .... and showing little or no regard for the librarians and vendors who are part and parcel of the system that supports them ...." Folks, the system is changing, and all Elsevier is doing is trying to position itself as well as possible for economic survival by taking maximum profits now. As I have said many times before, the publisher/vendor/librarian goals are not the same, even though we all depend on the same product (scholarship in hard print). If librarians doubt this, I urge every one of them to read very carefully the recent FAXON REPORT (Summer 1992, Vol. 3, no. 2), especially the Trends & Opinions section interview with Karen Roubicek who manages Faxon's newest department, ACCESS SERVICES (sound like something libraries once did?). Note her answer to the comment by the interviewer that Faxon seems to be focussing on end users as much as on the traditional client base (libraries): "Yes, I think that's true. Some electronic network travellers will fearlessly set off on their own. Others will still rely on librarians to drive the tour bus." An interesting picture of librarians as drivers of the non-adventuresome, more passive, passenger ... (a decreasing breed, one might note, in the sciences at least).
The competitive, big vendors have seen the future and are now taking decisive action to preserve themselves. They know that they will be squeezed by publishers (who have also seen the big picture), and that libraries will have increasingly less and less revenue (note their increasingly frantic efforts to market information), and will not be powerful enough to change the academic tenure/publishing process in the near future. Access to information networks as well as to all types of expensive journals (no longer affordable to libraries) as well as the ability to address end user needs are the vendor's for the taking. They are extremely well positioned to do this, quickly. They know that a vendor, even better than any single publisher (who deals only with its own publications as does an Elsevier or a Pergamon, etc.) is very well set up to provide quick, complete and rapid end user service. I am not at all surprised about Elsevier's, et al., actions. Is anyone?? Nor am I surprised about FAXON'S new marketing push to address the end user. Now it is the vendor that has become a big threat to the publisher and librarian, and the balance is shifting. As they say, the future isn't what it used to be .... Why, oh why, do librarians still think we should all get together and be nice about resolving these problems? The political arena (that of copyright, licensing, etc.) is where the nation's information fate will be decided.
The mailbox is: tuttle@gibbs.oit.unc.edu or TUTTLE@UNC.BITNET.
Regarding the AMA's _Directory of Physicians_ licensing situation, Gladys S. Shapera, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh says, "I called the AMA and was provided with the attached language to add to our agreement. Since we do not circulate our copy, circulation is not an issue for us for this specific title." Here is what Betty Bunsa of the AMA sent her:
Suggested language for Directory Agreement modification: "Licensee's
responsibility with regard to unsupervised, in-house photocopying of
the _Directory of Physicians in the United States_ by library patrons
is limited to the prominent display of Copyright warnings and notices,
as required by law, on each public photocopy machine."
The NEWSLETTER ON SERIALS PRICING ISSUES (ISSN: 1046-3410) is published by the editor through the Office of Information Technology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as news is available. Editor: Marcia Tuttle, BITNET: TUTTLE@UNC.BITNET; Internet: tuttle@gibbs.oit.unc.edu; Paper mail: Serials Department, CB #3938 Davis Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill NC 27599-3938; Telephone: 919 962- 1067; FAX: 919 962-0484. Editorial Board: Deana Astle (Clemson University), Jerry Curtis (Springer Verlag New York), Charles Hamaker (Louisiana State University), James Mouw (University of Chicago), and Heather Steele (Blackwell's Periodicals Division). The Newsletter is available on BITNET/Internet and Blackwell's CONNECT. EBSCO and Readmore Academic customers may receive the Newsletter in paper format from these companies. Back issues of the Newsletter are available electronically free of charge through electronic mail from the editor. To subscribe (or unsubscribe to the newsletter, send a message to LISTSERV@GIBBS.OIT.UNC.EDU saying SUBSCRIBE (or UNSUBSCRIBE) PRICES-L [YOUR NAME]. Be sure to send that message to the listserver and not to Prices-l. You must include your name, and to unsubscribe, you must send the message from the e-mail address by which you are subscribed. If you have problems, contact the editor.