119.2 B.H. BLACKWELL'S PRICING PREDICTIONS FOR 1995, Steve Entwistle
119.3 FAXON TO SELL REMAINING NON-US OBLIGATIONS TO EBSCO INDUSTRIES, Inc., Press release
119.4 AGREEMENT IN PRINCIPLE WITH FAXON, James Kels
Bill Miller, Florida Atlantic University, miller@acc.fau.edu.
Several years ago, when our materials budget went from 3.5 million to 1.3 million, I had the thrill of seeing my full-color portrait on the cover of the _Chronicle_ as an example of a pitiful wretch in whose plight everyone else could take comfort by comparison. In succeeding years many of you have experienced similar problems. During the past four years here, we have probably cancelled a million dol- lars worth of serials. Taking my cue from discussion at a FAXON institute I had attended, it was obvious that the only way to make our huge cuts on short notice (or otherwise) was to concentrate on the sciences and engi- neering, because, as Willie Sutton once said, that's where the money is. In dollar terms, the bulk of the cuts came, and had to come from these areas. We could have cancelled every journal we had in the social sciences and humanities and barely made a dent in our problem. Nevertheless, in dollar terms, the STM areas still command the great bulk of our resources, and were not unfairly cut, especially if one looks at enrollment and compares it to percentage of resources allocated. Still, our cuts have damaged the research capability of many STM departments, which is especially unfortu- nate because at this institution virtually all of our Ph.D. programs are in the sciences and engineering. The only long-term solution I can see to this problem is document delivery and electronic access (or million-dollar bud- get increases which do not appear likely). What prompts this note however is a political and a personal question. I am concerned about the long-term damage done to my personal credibility and to the credibility of the library as a whole as a result of these cuts. Even though we did them carefully and with considerable consultation, as was inevitable with a process of this magnitude we undoubtedly made some mis- takes, and there are those who firmly believe that we singled out their departments or colleges punitively or unfairly. Personally, I have gone in some people's minds from being an esteemed colleague to being a thoughtless and insensitive anti-intellectual yahoo who does not understand or support research. By now, many of you have experienced the need to make sudden, drastic cuts in serials. What have been your experiences? How have you coped with them? How are you restoring confidence (if you are)? I know that many of you will say "well, if you did it right and explained it, there shouldn't be a re- sidual problem." We think we did it right, and we did defuse most of the timebombs, but there remains a residue of unhappiness which seems deep- seated. It is perhaps inevitable and should be ignored, but nevertheless I worry about it. Does time heal all wounds?119.2 B.H.BLACKWELL'S JOURNAL PRICING PREDICTIONS FOR 1995
Steve Entwistle, B.H. Blackwell Co., Steve.Entwistle@blackwell.co.uk.
Every year when we have received sufficient information from our publisher/ suppliers B.H.Blackwell prepare price predictions for the forthcoming sub- scription year. We are now confident that we can project the inflationary effects with some accuracy. Titles published in Britain will rise by 11.16%. Titles published in Continental Europe will rise by 11.05%. Titles published in the US will rise by 11.36%. A key factor governing price rises for all libraries is the relative stead- iness of the foreign exchange markets in the past twelve months. We do not think that exchange rate fluctuations will be a factor in the 1995 fore- cast. We have surveyed the major publishers and our current forecast is as above. It had been anticipated that overall we might see publisher price increases in single figures for 1995, but the latest feedback shows that this will not be the case. For British libraries the effect of a stable pound will mean that the hor- rendous increase of 23-24% faced by libraries in 1994 will not be repeated, but an average increase of 11.18% (the figure will vary according to the mix and scope of the collection) is certainly bad news. For North American libraries, with the majority of British and European publishers now pricing in dollars for this market, an increase of 9.5-10.5% is forecast. This is in contrast to 1994 when the strength of the US dollar led to a very low increase for European titles. The prediction for American titles is 11.36%, and an overall increase of 10.25-10.95% is likely for academic research libraries with a standard mix of titles. It is worth keeping in mind that other factor influencing publisher price rises -- an increase in pagination and frequency. Some publishers continue to control page levels but it is anticipated that we will see an increase in the range of 2-3% next year.119.3 FAXON TO SELL REMAINING NON-US OPERATIONS TO EBSCO INDUSTRIES, INC.
August 8, 1994, Westwood, MA -- The Faxon Company announced today that it has entered into an agreement with EBSCO Industries, Inc. of Birmingham, Alabama, for EBSCO to purchase The Turner Subscription Agency and the bal- ance of Faxon's non-US operations, excluding Europe. EBSCO anticipates completing its due diligence in a short period of time before closing the sale. Faxon has elected not to accept R. R. Donnelley and Sons' offer to purchase the company. According to majority shareholder Judy Davis, "Faxon received numerous offers for various parts of the company. We are pleased to accept EBSCO's offer to purchase Faxon's remaining non-US operations and The Turner Sub- scription Agency." In a separate transaction, Faxon completed last week the sale of its Euro- pean subsidiaries to Swets & Zeitlinger BV of Lisse, The Netherlands. "With the completion of these two transactions, Faxon will be in a strong position to ensure continued stability for its core business in the United States. We look forward to continuing our long history of quality service to the library community," continued Davis.119.4 AGREEMENT IN PRINCIPLE WITH FAXON Letter from James Kels, Chairman, Elsevier Science.
Elsevier Science 655 Avenue of the Americas New York NY 10010-5107 Dear Librarian, I am very pleased to announce that the Elsevier companies have reached an agreement in principle with The Faxon Company which will enable Faxon to resume normal trading with the Elsevier companies. The agreement is subject to execution of final documentation. The agreement in principle will establish a collateral account, held in trust by the Bank of Boston, into which all 1995 subscription payments for all publications handled by Faxon will be held until distributed to pub- lishers; Faxon's existing debt to publishers will be retired; and new cred- it for Faxon has been arranged. The arrangement is intended to encourage publishers and clients to continue normal trading terms with Faxon. Faxon has provided a unique service to the library commuity and to the publishers for more than a century. Elsevier has been working with Faxon's owners and management, and we are very pleased that we have found a way to reinforce Faxon's financial stability and to encourage libraries and pub- lishers to continue to enjoy Faxon's services. Both Elsevier and Faxon are deeply appreciative of the patience and support which the library community has shown in this difficult period. Now that the process of resolution is in its last lap, we hope that this patience and support will continue. Yours sincerely, James Kels Chairman
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