ISSN: 1046-3410
NEWSLETTER ON SERIALS PRICING ISSUES
NO 245 -- March 13, 2000
Editor: Marcia Tuttle
CONTENTS
245.1 WHOSE SIDE ARE WE ON? Bernard Naylor
245.2 THE 11TH INTENSIVE COURSE ON JOURNAL PUBLISHING FOR MIDDLE
MANAGEMENT, Jamie Cameron
245.1 WHOSE SIDE ARE WE ON?[Received February 23, 2000]
I am a bit surprised that nobody has commented on two particular and connected features of recent deals for the provision of journal content in electronic form.
In some recent draft contracts for the provision of electronic access, libraries have been required to confirm their acceptance of annual price increases which are probably about three times the current rate of "ordinary inflation" in developed countries (6-7 per cent as against 2-2.5 per cent). They have also been required to undertake not to cancel any journals from the particular publisher offering the draft contract, or, in a revised version, to undertake to limit their cancellations to a certain minimal percentage of total value.
It is one thing, in my view, for libraries to grumble about the even higher rates of annual increase in journal prices (currently around five times ordinary inflation) and then, typically, to cave in and accept, but perhaps also to cancel some more subscriptions to bring accounts back into balance. It is quite another for us to "cross the street" and, in effect, confirm, through a contract, that we accept and condone these still very high rates of price inflation, and that we will undertake to protect the particular publisher from the effects of high inflation and ensure that almost all the consequences are visited elsewhere.
I suppose I shall be told that I am being unrealistic, and that the abatement of price increases implied by these contracts should be welcomed. However, I am very conscious that vicious inflationary spirals (such as scholarly journals are surely locked into) are rarely broken without severe pain and that economists have a special place in their invective for those who "feed inflationary expectations."
Does anyone else feel that these deals implicate libraries in "feeding inflationary expectations" and weaken any future protests we may wish to make against journal price increases?
245.2 THE 11TH INTENSIVE COURSE ON JOURNAL PUBLISHING FOR MIDDLE MANAGEMENT
Jamie Cameron, Director, Publications, Professional Engineering
Publishing, j_cameron@imeche.org.uk
[Received March 3, 2000]
Dates: 19-23 June 2000
Place: Golden Tulip Conference Hotel Leeuwenhorst,
Noordwijkerhout,The Netherlands
Organisers: Jamie Cameron, Professional Engineering Publishing, UK
Agnete Schj¯nsby, Scandinavian University Press, Norway
Alan Singleton, Oxford University Press, UK
The only Course on STM Serials Publishing, The Course is especially targeted at middle managers in STM Serials Publishing and is designed for all those involved in any part of the complete journal publishing process.
Draft Program: The programme contains many well-known and experienced speakers who will address the fundamental issues of the journals business as well as the effects of the changes in the publishing environment. Case Studies, with participants working in teams, form a central part of the Course, and throughout special emphasis will be placed on the impact of electronic publishing.
Monday 19th June
13.00 Registration: Lunch available
14.00 Welcome and roll call of participants
14.30 Introduction to STM - Lex Lefebvre, Secretary General STM
14.45 Introduction to the Course - Jamie Cameron, Agnete
Schj¯nsby and Alan Singleton
15.15 Keynote speaker: Pieter Bolman. Academic Press, USA
16.15 Tea/Coffee
16.45 Explanation of Case Study
18.30 Drinks
19.30 Dinner followed by Case Study work
Tuesday 20th June
09.00 The Library perspective: Dr Hans Geleijnse, Tilburg
University
10.0 Finance: Charles Fry, The Royal Pharmaceutical Society, UK
11.00 Tea/Coffee
11.30 Case Study work
13.00 Lunch
14.30 Aggregators: David Brown, ingenta Institute, UK
15.30 Subscription Fulfilment and Distribution: Lorna Summers,
Turpin Distribution, UK
16.30 Tea/Coffee
17.00 Case Study work
19.30 Dinner and Case Study work
Wednesday 21st June
09.00 Electronic Publishing: Bridget Pairaudeau, Terry Hulbert,
IOP Publishing UK and Andrea Powell, CABI Publishing, UK
10.00 Tea/Coffee
10.30 Electronic Publishing (continued)
11.30 Case Study work
12.30 Lunch
14.00 Promotion and Marketing: Caroline Vogelzang, Kluwer
Academic Publishers, The Netherlands
15.00 Tea/Coffee
15.30 Editorial: Publisher and Journal Editor (Speaker invited)
17.30 Case Study work
19.30 Dinner and Case Study Work
Thursday 22nd June
09.00 Presentation of Case Studies
11.00 Tea/Coffee
11.30 Generation of Non-subscription Revenue (Speaker invited)
12.30 Lunch
14.00 Excursion
17.30 Reception at Royal Brill Publishers, Leiden
19.00 Dinner out
Friday 23rd June
09.00 Discussion of Case Study Presentations
10.00 Tea/Coffee
10.30 Contract Copyright and Licences: Sally Morris, The
Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers, UK
11.45 Conclusion
12.15 Lunch
REGISTRATION FORM
PLEASE USE PRINTED LETTERS:
I WANT TO REGISTER FOR THE 11th INTENSIVE COURSE IN STM JOURNAL PUBLISHING 19-23 June 2000
NAME (family name first)
PUBLISHING HOUSE
JOB TITLE
TIME IN PRESENT POSITION
MALE or FEMALE?
AGE
ADDRESS (complete postal address)
TELEPHONE
TELEFAX
E-MAIL ADDRESS
Special dietary requirements:
Arrival date:
Departure date:
Please return this form to:
STM Secretariat, Muurhuizen 165, 3811 EG Amersfoort, The Netherlands;
Fax: +31 33 465 65 38;
e-mail: harriet@stm.nl
Fee: NLG 2,550.- for STM members; NLG 2,700.- for non-members
* The fee includes accommodation for four nights, four
breakfasts, three luncheons, three dinners, an excursion and an
evening out, conference facilities and handouts.
* Registrants will receive an invoice to be paid upon receipt.
* Full refund for cancellations received before 1 June 2000. No
refund for later cancellations.
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Statements of fact and opinion appearing in the Newsletter on
Serials Pricing Issues are made on the responsibility of the
authors alone, and do not imply the endorsement of the editor, the
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The Newsletter on Serials Pricing Issues (ISSN: 1046-3410) is
published by the editor through Academic Technology and Networks at
the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as news is
available. Editor: Marcia Tuttle, Email: marcia_tuttle@unc.edu;
Telephone: 919 929-3513. Editorial Board: Keith Courtney (Taylor
and Francis), Fred Friend (University College London), Birdie
MacLennan (University of Vermont), Michael Markwith (Swets
Subscription Services), James Mouw (University of Chicago), Heather
Steele (Blackwell's Periodicals Division), David Stern (Yale
University), and Scott Wicks (Cornell University).
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