[Original posting on this topic in appeared in COLLDV-L no. 1777 and is
reproduced below; the response follows it.]
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
===========================================================================
(1) From: Kent Mulliner <mulliner_at_ohiou.edu>
Barbara's message arrived just as I had spent two hours engaged
in a similar analysis our our MCB subscriptions (synchronicity).
Her data for Internet research ends at 1997. For 1998, it again
jumped to $499 with electronic access included to $619
(per MCB pages). With a 24% electronic surcharge, MCB must
think that they're ACM.
Kent Mulliner
Ohio University Libraries
Received on Fri Jul 17 1998 - 09:09:19 EDT