no.1777-MCB UNIVERSITY PRESS JOURNALS

From: Barbara Via <BV848_at_cnsvax.albany.edu>

I am new to this list and don't know if there has been discussion
of the pricing of MCB University Press's journals, esp. in the
subject area of Library and Information Science.  I am the collection
developer for my library for Library and Information Science and Reference.
I have watched with dismay the astounding rises in prices for journals
that MCB Univ. Press has taken over from U.S. publishers.  Two examples
are _the Bottom Line_ and _Collection Building_, both formerly published
by Neal Schuman.  Since taking these journals over, MCB has raised the
prices incredibly.  My library's invoices for these titles are as follows:

For the Bottom Line,  1995  $51.95; 1996  $102.96;  1997  $154.96;
1998 $329.00

For Collection Building,  1995 $63.47 ;  1996  $93.36;  1997  $156.30;
1998 $313.65

MCB's advertising touts the free online access now provided for these
titles, with full-text available from multiple computers.  However,
the "bottom line" for my serials budget is that I cannot afford to pay
these prices for individual journal titles.  MCB Univ. Press ought to
be giving libraries the option of choosing the electronic access as
a value-added service at an additional cost.

Another title that MCB Univ. Press has taken over is Internet Research:
Electronic Networking , Applications and Policy.  We have had to cancel
this title for 1998, but the invoices we paid for 1995-97 are as follows:

1995 $150.95; 1996  $248.96;  1997  $373.97

Has anyone else been keeping track of these price increases?

Any suggestions on getting through to MCB Univ. Press about their
pricing?

I can't help but note the irony that the advertising literature
for _the Bottom Line_ mentions that..."Libraries today face both a crisis of
identity and a crisis of finance....the institution has less money with
which is is expected to achieve more.  It goes on to say that _the Bottom
Line_
offers a wealthy of genuinely practical initiatives to help librarians deal
with financial constraints ...

--Barbara Via
  Dewey Graduate Library
  Univ at Albany
  Albany NY 12222