66.2 FOUNDATION FOR INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC COOPERATION , Ann Okerson
66.3 ELECTRONIC ACCESS TO SERIALS, Jo Kimbro
66.4 WHAT IMPACT ARE PRICE INCREASES HAVING ON SMALLER LIBRARIES? Bill Drew
Marcia Tuttle, tuttle@gibbs.oit.unc.edu.
When I received the message from Bill Drew (66.4), I was happy to include it in the newsletter, but I suggested to Bill that he might also send it to SERIALST (although the query sounded familiar!). He replied that he had already done so and had received only three responses. He asked the three persons to post their messages on SERIALST, but they did not. There are a lot of librarians among the newsletter's 1,200 subscribers (from 14 countries) who are at institutions subscribing to fewer than 800 (or 1,000) journals. Let's hear from you! Let the journal publishers on this list hear from you and let your subscription agents on the list hear, too.
66.2 FOUNDATION FOR INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC COOPERATION (FISC)
Ann Okerson, Association of Research Libraries, ann@cni.org.
[The following is extracted from an ARL internal committee document and is used with permission. -ed.]
We would like to call your attention to a mailing that has been received by post today in the ARL offices and by at least two of our members. It concerns the completion and publication of a report by the Foundation for International Scientific Cooperation, London, and presumably has been sent to many academic libraries....It is entitled: RESEARCH LIBRARY REORGANIZATION RECOMMENDED and the opening paragraph says that university librarians have been misled by distortions and lack of accurate analysis of university financing and publishing operations, according to an international panel that has recommended reorganizing management and financing of major technical libraries at research universities.
There are concerns about the provenance of the Report and Foundation. Some evidence suggests a link between the Foundation and a publisher who has been suing two learned societies in several countries in Europe.
The following journalistic pieces suggest such a link:
1. CHRONICLE of HIGHER EDUCATION, February 21, 1990, p. A8, "Library Survey from Journal Publisher Sent Under Unsuspecting Foundation's Name," by Judith Turner.
Column 3: "Christopher E. Schneider, international sales director for Gordon & Breach, said the survey had nothing to do with the lawsuit, but was part of an effort to establish a protocol for journal comparisons. The Foundation, he said, would bring together scientists, librarians, and publishers to ... make recommendations. Gordon & Breach will provide financing for the project, Mr. Schneider added."
2. AMERICAN LIBRARIES, March 1990, p. 173, "Serials survey linked to Gordon & Breach," by Tom Gaughan.
"G & B International Sales Director Chris Schneider told AL the survey 'has nothing to do with the AIP suit,' but acknowledged that speculation is 'very understandable.' He added that the survey related to a panel being formed by the FISC to study serials-price survey methodology but also noted that the panel is in a 'premature stage' and that he knew little about it.
"'G & B provided a mailing service,' said Schneider, adding that the return address was probably set up for the convenience of the panel."
3. Press Release, March 6, 1990, from Michael Klepper Associates, New York.
"The Foundation for International Scientific Cooperation announced today that it will create an independent, international panel to define and develop criteria for future surveys that assess the relative cost-effectiveness of science publications. That panel was conceived and proposed to the Foundation by Gordon & Breach Science Publishers.
4. Press Release, March 16, 1990, from Michael Klepper Associates, New York.
"This communication is in reply to Tom Gaughan's editorial ... I am director of the Foundation for International Scientific Cooperation which has been commissioned by Gordon & Breach Science Publishers to assemble an impartial, international panel to analyze and define criteria for surveys...." (signed by Maurice Levy, Director)
Concerns:
- The report is described in the press release as written by an independent group of scholars or authorities. Available evidence indicates that one specific (not disinterested) publisher helped to shape and support the work of the panel.
- The report uses ARL data to show that libraries are failing to support science journals. In fact, recent analysis indicates that ARL libraries are supporting science journals in direct proportion to university R & D funding, and librarians believe this might be lowering support for other service and subject areas.
- The Panel was established to develop an impartial methodology for comparing journals, but the report does not do this. Mostly, it suggests that journals are practically impossible to compare with each other unless they are highly similar in mission, scope, subject, and other criteria.
- A draft version of the Panel report may have been filed in a court case against a learned US society in one European venue that we know of, suggesting a hidden agenda for the work.
- The unpublished data from ARL, as well as data taken from published ARL reports, were presented to Mr. Henderson with qualifications, which are critical to their understanding; these are not necessarily clarified in the article.
We hope these brief notes are of some assistance in placing the FISC report in context.
66.3 ELECTRONIC ACCESS TO SERIALS: ACCESS, STORAGE, AND COST
Jo Kimbro, Texas A & M University, College Station TX.
Texas Library Association Preconference
Sponsored by TLA College and University Libraries Division
Co-sponsored by ACRL, Texas Chapter, Acquisitions and Collection
Development Round Table, Automation and Technology Round Table, Reference
Round Table and Serials Interest Group
Tuesday, March 9, 1993
9:00 am - 3:30 pm
(Registration: 8:30 am - 9:00 am)
Marriott San Antonio Riverwalk
San Antonio, Texas
Program Participants:
Keynote: October Ivins, Head, Serials Services Department, Louisiana
State University Libraries
Moderator: Avery T. Sharp, University Librarian, Baylor University
Libraries
Contributors: Eugenia K. Brumm, Assistant Professor, Graduate School of
Library & Information Science, The University of Texas at
Austin
Fred M. Heath, Director of Libraries, Texas Christian University
Dana C. Rooks, Assistant Director for Administration, University
of Houston Libraries
Come participate in this challenging preconference workshop. Gain an overview
of the current serials environment with a special focus on accessing serials
electronically through such media as electronic lists, stand-alone CD-ROMs,
and networks. Access, storage, and cost will be explored, along with how
librarians' responsibilities can be expected to change. Hear representatives
from various specialties address your concerns, providing practical
information for decision-making with an emphasis on budgetary considerations.
Librarians from academic and public libraries as well as school and special
libraries and information centers confronting this major issue are encouraged
to attend.
66.4 WHAT IMPACT ARE PRICE INCREASES HAVING ON SMALLER LIBRARIES?
Bill Drew, SUNY College of Agriculture and Technology, Morrisville NY, DREWWE@snymorva.cs.snymor.edu.
I would like to see this newsletter discuss the impact of serials price increases on libraries besides the big boys out there. At Morrisville College we do not subscribe to any Pergamon title, only a couple of foreign titles, and some journals from ACS. We have had to cope with increases by cancelling some titles and cutting back on binding and microfilm purchases. What really hurts us are the charges that come after we pay our initial Readmore invoices (the so-called added charges). These are price increases that occur after the invoices are paid and Readmore is informed by the publisher. What can be done to get publishers to update their price lists earlier in the year? What are other libraries with fewer than 800 current periodical titles doing to keep costs down?
The mailbox is: tuttle@gibbs.oit.unc.edu.
>From Ann O'Neill, School of Information and Library Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, ONEIA.ILS@mhs.unc.edu:
I read Newsletter #64 on the FISC study with a great deal of interest. It confirmed many of my suspicions that the study was a thinly veiled Gordon and Breach production. I do think, however, that some of the criticism of _Publishing Research Quarterly_ was unwarranted. I have published in _PRQ_, and my experiences with the editor, Beth Luey, and the referees were very positive and professional. Ms. Luey is an historian, and the other members of the editorial board are well respected people in publishing, history, and those who are interested in the general issue of publishing and scholarly communication.
_PRQ_ is not a mainstream library journal and is not even indexed in _Library Literature_. I think it is extremely interesting that the Panel chose to publish their "results" in this journal, rather than submitting it to a "regular" library journal. I think this attests to the fact that the Panel was aware of the difficulty it would have in publishing its study in a library journal where the editors and referees were more aware of the controversy surrounding the Panel and its study.
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>From Jay K. Lucker, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, LUCKER@mitvma.mit.edu:
One matter that seems to have been overlooked in comments about the Ubell study is the inefficient manner in which the study was conducted. A number of the questions dealt with future predictions regarding library budgets. This sort of information is available, if at all, from library directors or senior administrators. Ubell might have been better off directing the query at that group rather than a random list of thousands of librarians. It is akin to asking all of the faculty members of all research universities what the academic budget is going to be, rather than asking the Presidents. Next time Ubell might want to seek some advice before starting out.
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>From Prof. Tony Addison, Drexel University, ADDISONA@DUVM.OCS.DREXEL.EDU:
I accidentally stumbled into the Gordon & Breach arena, when I did a "quick & dirty" survey of the cost-effectiveness of inorganic chemistry journals a few weeks ago. This was partially related to journal cancellations here at Drexel, but mainly in relationship to some journal recommendations from the American Chemical Society Committee on Professional Training. I looked at the $cost per article published per unit of ISI Impact Factor. _Journal of Coordination Chemistry_, the Gordon & Breach inorganic journal, ranked about bottom of my set of eight or so journals by this criterion. We have cancelled it at Drexel. Also, I am irritated by the discovery, that G&B do not permit CARL-Uncover to disseminate articles. Not an admirable publishing house.
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 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, 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), Janet Fisher (MIT Press), Charles Hamaker (Louisiana State University), James Mouw (University of Chicago), and Heather Steele (Blackwell's Periodicals Division). The Newsletter is available on the 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. To get a list of available issues send a message to LISTSERV@GIBBS.OIT.UNC.EDU saying INDEX PRICES. To retrieve a specific issue, the message should read: GET PRICES PRICES.xx (where "xx" is the number of the issue). To subscribe to the newsletter, send a message to LISTSERV@GIBBS.OIT.UNC.EDU saying SUBSCRIBE PRICES [YOUR NAME]. Be sure to send that message to the listserver and not to Prices. You must include your name. To unsubscribe (no name required in message), you must send the message from the e-mail address by which you are subscribed. If you have problems, please contact the editor.
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