Newsletter on Serial Pricing Issues 083 (May 30, 1993) URL = http://hegel.lib.ncsu.edu/stacks/serials/nspi/nspi-ns083 ISSN: 1046-3410 NEWSLETTER ON SERIALS PRICING ISSUES NO 83 -- May 30, 1993 Editor: Marcia Tuttle CONTENTS 83.1 FIRM PRICES 83.2 1994 NASIG CONFERENCE: CALL FOR PAPERS, Susan Davis 83.3 IMPLICATIONS OF ELECTRONIC PUBLISHING TO BE DISCUSSED IN NEW ORLEANS, Richard Jasper 83.4 MACHINE-READABLE TABLES OF CONTENTS, SISAC 83.1 FIRM PRICES >From Fred Friend, University College London, ucylfjf@ucl.ac.uk: George Chressanthis' contribution (NS 82) was very interesting and it is good that such research is going on. I must confess that I did not under- stand all that he wrote but the conclusion is very clear: there is a risk that the firm prices initiative will be used by the publishers to raise prices. However, I may not know much about economics but being a librarian has taught me a fair amount about human nature, and the publishers must know that we librarians have got so worked up about exorbitant price in- creases that we will be watching those prices like hawks. I can see that they might get away with an additional 1% added to the price as a hedge against firm prices, but the supplementary invoices which led us to ask for firm prices were landing us with price increases far in excess of 1%. If we continue to monitor prices and if we suspect that publishers are using the firm prices argument to raise prices unreasonably we will be cancelling their journals! Surely that is the market coming into force. If the pub- lishers play the game (is that just a British expression?) then they will not lose subscriptions. Either way libraries should be better off as a result of the firm prices initiative. ----- >From Dana Roth, CalTech, DZRLIB@ROMEO.CALTECH.EDU: My sense of the 'firm price' dilemma is that publishers seem to have come to regard a risk-free commercial environment as a birthright. When I hear publishers' representatives partially justify costly periodicals because they need start-up funds for new titles, I wonder if we are really operat- ing in a market economy. It seems fairly obvious that resistance to firm pricing stems largely from the publishers' ignorance of how many subscrib- ers will maintain their subscriptions. In this regard, haven't libraries suffered enough over the past decades by having to subscribe before knowing the final price? Isn't it the publisher's turn to take a chance and see how many subscribers they have after announcing a firm price? At least publish- ers have the option of reducing the number of pages, combining issues or instituting other cost-saving measures. ----- >From Albert Henderson, 70244.1532@CompuServe.COM: Prof. Chressanthis is absolutely correct in describing the publishers' "firm" pricing dilemma as a "razor's edge." Underestimating inflation, renewal rates, or -- in his example -- exchange rates produces undesirable economic consequences. Sometimes this cannot be avoided. There are many examples. Prof. Chressanthis investigated exchange rates. _Serials Librar- ian_ published my study of the aftershock of inflation on periodicals prices (based on the US-only price indexes that had appeared over a dozen years in _Library Journal_). The facts are that publishers do their best to predict economic factors whenever they set prices. If income is short one year, the publishers are obligated to make it up by raising prices, cutting services, or both. The LJ data suggests that two years is required for the cycle to be complete. Setting firm prices early only delays the inevitable. But it might make administrative life easier for librarians to meet restrictions of budgets. 83.2 1994 NASIG CONFERENCE: CALL FOR PAPERS Susan Davis, NASIG Secretary, State University of New York at Buffalo, UNLSDB@UBVM.cc.buffalo.edu. CALL FOR PAPERS CALL FOR WORKSHOPS CALL FOR DISCUSSION GROUPS 1994 NASIG CONFERENCE A KALEIDOSCOPE OF CHOICES: RESHAPING ROLES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR SERIALISTS The North American Serials Interest Group (NASIG), an organization commit- ted to serving the interests of all members of the serials information chain, will hold its ninth annual conference June 2-5, 1994 at the Univer- sity of British Columbia, Vancouver. NASIG's annual conference provides a forum in which serials librarians, publishers, vendors, educators, binders, systems developers, and other specialists exchange views, present new ideas, proactively seek solutions to common problems, and discuss matters of current interest. The proceedings are published and distributed to a wide audience. The Program Planning Committee invites plenary paper proposals dealing with any "big picture" aspect of the theme. Examples: *Forces that are reshaping the serials information chain *Successful strategies for reacting to these forces *New models and opportunities for collection management, organizational structure, access, and outreach *Re-examining the role of the serials professional in the new information society The Program Planning Committee also invites workshop and discussion group proposals that will proactively address changes and provide tools for man- aging the continuing "serials crisis." *Case studies in successful "downsizing" or "reshaping" *Strategies for adjusting to organizational change *Training/retraining/educating serialists for new roles in article deliv- ery, public service, monograph acquisitions, etc. *Relevant new technologies/services/software packages/standards *Grantsmanship *Costing out functions and streamlining workflow Submission of topics and suggestions for speakers are welcome from NASIG members and other members of the information community. Since all proposals are reviewed competitively, please include the following information for maximum consideration: *Name, address, phone/fax numbers, e-address(es) of the proposer *Program title *An abstract of 200-300 words that clearly explains the intent of the pro- posal as well as its relationship to the theme *Indicate preference for having the proposal used as a plenary paper, work- shop, or discussion group by ranking these 1-3. Proposals should be submitted no later than August 1, 1993 to: Susan Davis NASIG Secretary Head, Periodicals Section State University of NY at Buffalo Lockwood Library Building Buffalo, NY 14260-2200 Phone: 716-645-2784 Fax: 716-645-5955 BITNET: UNLSDB@UBVM INTERNET: UNLSDB@UBVM.CC.BUFFALO.EDU 83.3 IMPLICATIONS OF ELECTRONIC PUBLISHING TO BE DISCUSSED IN NEW ORLEANS Richard Jasper, Emory University, librpj@emuvm1.cc.emory.edu. Views from a commercial scientific-technical-medical (STM) journal publish- er and a noted library educator will be presented at the Electronic Pub- lishing Discussion Group's meeting at the American Library Association Annual Conference in New Orleans. EPDG, which is part of the Association for Library Collections and Technical Services (ALCTS), is scheduled to meet 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Sunday, June 27, in Room 13 of the New Orleans Convention Center. Bob Badger, manager of electronic media for Springer-Verlag Inc. of New York, and Dr. S. Michael Malinconico, a professor in the School of Library and Information Studies at the University of Alabama, will present their ideas on "Electronic Publishing: The Implications for Libraries and Librar- ians." Their talks follow up the discussion of electronic publishing and proprietary obstacles set forth by Ann Okerson at EPDG's Midwinter Confer- ence meeting in Denver. Badger's work on the Red Sage Project, a collaborative effort involving Springer, Bell Labs, and the University of California, San Francisco, was featured in a March issue of the _Chronicle of Higher Education_. Malinco- nico, meanwhile, has written on the impact technology is having on the preparation of current and future librarians in such publications as the _Journal of Education for Library and Information Science_ (JELIS). The Badger-Malinconico talks are conceived as the first in a series of viewpoints to be presented over the next two or three ALA conferences. Tentative plans are being made for additional talks from a variety of stakeholders, including representatives from the university press, faculty, vendor and library communities. The New Orleans EPDG meeting will also see the election of a vice-chair/ chair-elect of the group. To submit nominations or for more information about the meeting, please contact: Richard P. Jasper, Chair ALCTS Electronic Publishing Discussion Group Acquisitions Department Emory University General Libraries Atlanta, GA 30322-2870 PH: (404) 727-0122; FAX: (404) 727-0053; EMAIL: LIBRPJ@EMUVM1.BITNET 83.4 MACHINE-READABLE TABLES OF CONTENTS Serials Industry Systems Advisory Commmittee, 0005552838@mcimail.com. The Serials Industry Systems Advisory Committee (SISAC) will take most of its program time at the ALA annual meeting for a discussion of MACHINE- READABLE TABLES OF CONTENTS. - Book Industry Communications in the UK has provided a model of a scann- able Table of Contents using new and exciting "2 dimensional" bar code technology. - Publishers have announced the availability of Tables of Contents over the Internet via ftp. - ILS vendors are asking what librarians want to do with this information? Must it be "hooked to holdings?" Join us and let us know what you think. DATE: Saturday, June 26, 1993 TIME: 8 - 10 p.m. PLACE: Ponchartrain Ballroom, Section A Sheraton Hotel New Orleans, LA If you have any questions, don't hesitate contacting me at: Sandy Paul, SISAC, 160 Fifth Ave., NY, NY 10010, 555.2838@MCIMAIL.COM. phone 212/929- 1393, fax 212/989-7542. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 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 editorial board, or the Uni- versity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Readers of the NEWSLETTER ON SERIALS PRICING ISSUES are encouraged to share the information in the newsletter by electronic or paper methods. We would appreciate credit if you quote from the newsletter. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The NEWSLETTER ON SERIALS PRICING ISSUES (ISSN: 1046-3410) is published by the editor through the Office of Information Technology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as news is available. Editor: Marcia Tuttle, Internet: tuttle@gibbs.oit.unc.edu; Paper mail: Serials Department, CB #3938 Davis Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill NC 27599-3938; Telephone: 919 962-1067; FAX: 919 962-0484. Editorial Board: Deana Astle (Clemson University), Jerry Curtis (Springer Verlag New York), Janet Fisher (MIT Press), Charles Hamaker (Louisiana State Universi- ty), Daniel Jones (University of Texas Health Science Center), James Mouw (University of Chicago), and Heather Steele (Blackwell's Periodicals Divi- sion). The Newsletter is available on the Internet, Blackwell's CONNECT and Readmore's ROSS. EBSCO customers may receive the Newsletter in paper format from EBSCO. Back issues of the Newsletter are available electronically. To get a list of available issues send a message to LISTSERV@GIBBS.OIT.UNC.EDU saying INDEX PRICES. To retrieve a specific issue, the message should read: GET PRICES PRICES.xx (where "xx" is the number of the issue). To subscribe to the newsletter, send a message to LISTSERV@GIBBS.OIT.UNC.EDU saying SUBSCRIBE PRICES [YOUR NAME]. Be sure to send that message to the listserv- er and not to Prices. You must include your name. To unsubscribe (no name required in message), you must send the message from the e-mail address by which you are subscribed. If you have problems, please contact the editor. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ *****ENDOFFILE*****ENDOFFILE*****ENDOFFILE*****ENDOFFILE*****ENDOFFILE*****