ALCTS Network News v14n08 (September 4, 1997) URL = http://hegel.lib.ncsu.edu/stacks/serials/ann/ann-v14n08 ISSN: 1056-6694 ALCTS NETWORK NEWS An electronic publication of the Association for Library Collections & Technical Services Volume 14, Number 8 September 4, 1997 In this issue ELECTRONIC SERIALS INSTITUTE CLOSED VIRTUALLY YOURS INSTITUTE CORRECTION LRTS BOOK REVIEW EDITOR APPOINTED AIP AND APS PREVAIL IN SUIT BY GORDON & BREACH ALCTS NEWSLETTER DEADLINE LC MOUNTS NEW PCC/CONSER WEB PAGES ************ ELECTRONIC SERIALS INSTITUTE CLOSED Registration is now closed for "A Capital Idea" - the ALCTS Serials Section electronic serials institute scheduled for Washington, DC on September 26-27. The institute is cosponsored by PALINET and The CAPCON Library Network. ************ VIRTUALLY YOURS INSTITUTE CORRECTION The program begins with registration on Thursday, October 23 at 3:00 p.m. for the Virtually Yours institute on models for managing electronic resources and services to be held in Chicago. The confirmation letter sent to registrants indicated an incorrect day. Please contact Katie Denny at kdenny@ala.org or 800-545-2433 ext. 5035 if you have any questions. ************ LRTS BOOK REVIEW EDITOR APPOINTED I am pleased to announce that Margaret Rohdy, Head of Research, Training & Quality Management at the University of Pennsylvania Libraries, has accepted a four-year term as the book review editor for LRTS. Margaret brings a wealth of experience to LRTS including her recent term as chair of the ALCTS Publications Committee which has given her experience with the publication process as well as editing. She is both a reader and writer of book reviews for LRTS and other journals. In considering the role of book reviews - and reviews of other formats - she says: "Readers should be able to depend on LRTS to identify and evaluate new publications that are relevant to their professional concerns." Also, the selection of resources to be reviewed should be of interest to practice and research and in all areas of interest to LRTS readers. Please join with me in welcoming Margaret (rohdy@pobox.upenn.edu) to the LRTS Editorial Board. --Jennifer Younger Editor, LRTS younger.6@osu.edu ************ AIP AND APS PREVAIL IN SUIT BY GORDON & BREACH The American Instittue of Physics has issued the following press release: The freedom to provide academic libraries with information about the cost of scholarly journals was upheld by a federal judge in New York in a decision issued on Tuesday, August 26. Gordon & Breach Science Publishers S.A. (G&B) had claimed that the American Institute of Physics (AIP) and The American Physical Society (APS) would violate the Lanham Act by distributing to libraries certain information concerning the cost-effectiveness of physics journals. The court rejected all claims by G&B, stating that "[i]f G&B believes librarians will make more optimal decisions if they consider information other than that provided by the defendants, its solution is to augment rather than censor the available truthful information." The suit involved a 1988 study by the late Henry H. Barschall, a physicist at the University of Wisconsin, and the distribution of the results of that study by AIP and APS. The Barschall Study showed that the physics journals published by AIP and APS were among the most cost-effective of all physics journals, as measured by cost per character and the frequency with which journals are cited. The study compared 200 physics journals. At the same time, the Court observed, based on the data presented at trial, that "regardless of the measure used, G&B's journals consistently scored at the bottom" of a cost-effectiveness ranking. G&B brought suit to prevent dissemination of the results, claiming that the non-profit societies' efforts to publicize the study constituted false advertising. Judge Leonard B. Sand concluded, however, that "Barschall's methodology has been demonstrated to establish reliably precisely the proposition for which defendants cited it --that defendants' physics journals, as measured by cost per character and by cost per character divided by impact factor, are substantially more cost-effective than those published by plaintiffs." The Court noted that evidence submitted by the societies showed that G&B has engaged in an "aggressive corporate practice of challenging any adverse commentary upon its journals," citing threats and lawsuits against librarians, academics, and other non-profit societies. Judge Sand observed that "[t]his evidence persuasively demonstrated that the present suit is but one battle in a `global campaign by G&B to suppress all adverse comment on its journals.'" Judge Sand's ruling, following a seven-day trial in June, marked the culmination of the American portion of litigation by G&B against the societies in the United States, Germany, Switzerland, and France. The societies prevailed at every level of the German court system and have recently prevailed in Switzerland in a suit that is now being appealed by G&B. A French trial court found for G&B under strict French comparative advertising laws, and that suit is now on appeal. The case in the United States was initiated by G&B in 1993. ************ ALCTS NEWSLETTER DEADLINE A reminder that the deadline for the next issue of the ALCTS Newsletter (to be mailed in November) is September 18. Submissions to be included in that issue should be sent to Dale Swensen by that date. His email address is dale_swensen@byu.edu This issue will include the annual reports of the division, CRG, and the five sections. ************ LC MOUNTS NEW PCC/CONSER WEB PAGES The Library of Congress announces the availability of several Web pages relating to the merger of the Program for Cooperative Cataloging and the CONSER Program. The PCC & CONSER Consolidation Update page (http://www.loc.gov/catdir/pcc/progcon.html) provides general information and links to several pages with more detailed information. Also newly available are the PCC Governance document (http://www.loc.gov/catdir/pcc/governce.html) and lists of PCC Policy and Steering Committee members (http://www.loc.gov/catdir/pcc/pccpolst.html), which are accessible through the update page. Links to additional pages will be added as the documents become available. ************ ALA PRESIDENT-ELECT SEEKS COMMITTEE VOLUNTEERS Ann Symons, President-Elect of ALA, has issued a request for committee volunteers. It has been edited for distribution in AN2. Information about yourself or another candidate should include name, position, preferred complete address, phone, fax, email; the committee(s) are you or your nominee is interested in working on; appointments (ALA, division, roundtable) you or your nominee(s) currently hold and when the term ends (include committees, task forces, subcommittees, award juries, and special committees); and you or your nominees interests and qualifications. Send this information to Ann Symons at one of the addresses below by the deadline of October 15. Dear Colleague: One of the most important responsibilities of the ALA president-elect is making appointments to ALA and Council committees. The traditional cycle for appointments is for the president-elect to request suggestions in the fall, to notify members in the late winter and spring, and for appointments to begin with the close of the Annual Conference. For most new committee members the first meeting for my appointments will be Midwinter 1999, in Philadelphia. It is important to me, as it has been to previous presidents, that ALA's committees are diverse, that they include members from all types and sizes of libraries, and that the committees are geographically representative. I want to ensure that committees include a mix of newer members traditionally less active, along with members who bring ALA experience, knowledge, and continuity.... I am looking for committed, hardworking, enthusiastic volunteers to serve on the following committees: Accreditation ALA/American Association of Publishers Joint ALA/Children's Book Council Joint ALA/Society of American Archivists American Libraries Advisory Awards Budget Analysis and Review Chapter Relations Conference Conference Program Constitution & Bylaws Education Election Intellectual Freedom International Relations Leadership, Training, and Education Legislation Membership Minority Concerns and Cultural Diversity Nominating OITP Advisory OLOS Advisory OLPR Advisory Organization Orientation, Training, and Leadership Development Pay Equity Policy Monitoring Professional Ethics Public Awareness Publishing Research & Statistics Resolutions Standards Status of Women in Librarianship ... --Ann K. Symons Juneau Douglas High School Library 10014 Crazy Horse Drive Juneau, AK 99801 Telephone: 907-463-1947 Fax: 907-463-1932 E-mail: symonsa@jsd.k12.ak.us ************ ALCTS NETWORK NEWS (ISSN 1056-6694) is published irregularly by the Association for Library Collections & Technical Services, a division of the American Library Association. Editorial offices: ALCTS, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611; Janet Swan Hill, President; Karen Muller, Executive Director. Editor: Karen Whittlesey (kwhittlesey@ala.org); Editorial Assistance: Karen Muller, Shonda Russell. ALCTS NETWORK NEWS is available free of charge and is available only in electronic form. Opinions expressed in the articles are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the division. News items should be sent to the editor at the e-mail address above. To subscribe, send an e-mail message to listproc@ala.org with the only line of text being "subscribe an2 [your name]" (without quotation marks). Back issues of AN2 are available through the listserver. To find out what's available, send the following command to listproc@ala.org: "index an2" (without quotation marks). Send questions about membership in ALCTS to the ALCTS Office, alcts@ala.org. All materials in the newsletter subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for the noncommercial purpose of scientific or education advancement. For other reprinting or redistribution or translations, address requests to the ALA Office of Rights and Permissions, 50 E. Huron Street, Chicago, IL 60611. ************ an2 v14_no8