3.820 expensive journals (35)
Willard McCarty (MCCARTY@vm.epas.utoronto.ca)
Sun, 3 Dec 89 21:05:51 EST
Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 3, No. 820. Sunday, 3 Dec 1989.
Date: Fri, 01 Dec 89 14:44 EST
From: LIBJB@CCNY
Subject: 3.805 expensive journals? CD-ROMs? (72)
Publishers of expensive journals, which tend to be non-U.S. in origin
and scientific in content, contend that their costs are rising at
enormous rates: inflation, decline in university-level support,
growth in the numbers of manuscripts to consider, and currency
exchange rates figuring prominently in their excuses. Circulation,
at least according to Elsevier, has declined by 15% for the major
journals; and page counts have risen dramatically. Most publishers,
even those charging thousnds of dollars for often-tardy publications,
seem to think they the market offers pretty tenuous support, and
that they, were they not so selfless, would raise prices even more.
Elsevier will at least respond to criticisms raised by, for example,
the recent Association of Research Libraries report on journal
pricing. Other publishers, most notably Gordon and Breach, have
taken critics to court! G & B are out to prove that any article which
compares the prices and pricing factors of various journals constitute
*advertising* and should be labelled as such...Uh...At least that's
the way I heard it.
The bulk of the information that I get on this topic comes from the
(electronic) journal Newsletter on Serials Pricing Issues available
at no charge from Marcia Tuttle, ed. (TUTTLE@UNC.BITNET)