-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: Catchword problems -- George Boston
Date: Wed, 27 Mar 2002 10:05:29 -0500
From: JoAnne Griffin <joanne.griffin@TUFTS.EDU>

I agree with this 100% -- if publishers can send us numerous reminders
that our paper subscriptions need to be renewed, why can't they send out
emails/notices letting us know that our e-journal access is expiring or
that their access rules have changed?

And, while we librarians asked for and received grace periods from many
publishers so that our access not be ended on Jan. 1st, this has not
proven to be very helpful, in my opinion, since we often don't know if a
grace period is in effect and when it might expire. I had more problems
in February than I did in January with e-journals!

I think it is very frustrating for our patrons to actually SEE the
latest issue of their favorite journal available on the web but not be
able to GET to it. And this should not be the way we find out that there
is some kind of problem with a journal.

Now that a lot of access issues have run their course (for better or for
worse) it would be nice to give some attention to this piece of
electronic subscriptions. There needs to be a better way.

JoAnne Griffin
Serials Librarian
Tufts University
Health Sciences Library

> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: Re: Catchword problems -- John McDonald
> Date: Tue, 26 Mar 2002 14:20:23 -0500
> From: George Boston <george.boston@WMICH.EDU>
>
> I have to strongly second this view. Several of our electronic
> journals were summarily cut off because they were either incorrectly
> renewed or the publisher changed their access policies to include a
> extra surcharge for online access.
>
> It was just happenstance that either library staff or a patron
> noticed that access was cut off. It would be nice if a email
> reminder was sent to the contact person.
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> George Boston
> Software and Electronic Resource Specialist
> Serial Resources Department
> Dwight B. Waldo Library
> Western Michigan University
> 1903 W. Michigan Avenue
> Kalamazoo, MI 49008-5353
>
> Telephone: 616-387-5196 / FAX: 616-387-5193
> Email: george.boston@wmich.edu
>
> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: Re: Catchword problems -- Christopher Waldrop
> Date: Tue, 26 Mar 2002 09:11:40 -0800
> From: John McDonald <jmcdonald@LIBRARY.CALTECH.EDU>
>
> We often have difficulties with renewals for electronic journals.
> My
> count
> this past year was that 14% of our e-journals were incorrectly
> renewed
> or
> summarily cancelled.  Sometimes it is our subscription agent,
> sometimes
> it's
> our accounting department, but most of the time it's the publisher
> or
> electronic journal vendor.  All of these problems could have been
> corrected
> or dealt with prior to de-activating our subscription if we had
> only
> known.
>
> Vendors and publishers - is it too much to ask that you email the
> license
> administrator or institutional contact in these cases?  A quick,
> even
> machine-generated, form letter letting us know that our
> subscription
> hasn't
> been renewed will eliminate most of these problems.
>
> John McDonald
> Acquisitions Librarian
> California Institute of Technology
> Millikan Library 1-32
> Pasadena, CA 91125
> 626-395-6427
> 626-792-7540 fax
> john@library.caltech.edu
>
> --------- Original Message --------
> Subject: Catchword problems.
> Date: Tue, 26 Mar 2002 08:48:44 -0600
> From: Christopher Waldrop <Waldrop@LIBRARY.VANDERBILT.EDU>
> Organization: Vanderbilt University
>
> This year (2002) at Vanderbilt University Library we've had three
> separate subscription problems with online publications that are
> available through Catchword. Two of the titles were renewals, and
> the
> third was a new subscription. In the case of the renewals, our
> access
> was cut off without explanation, even though it was confirmed that
> the
> publisher had received and processed our payment. In the case of
> the
> new subscription, the publisher's received and processed our
> payment, but our subscription hasn't been activated yet.
>
> To make it even more frustration, we pay for all the titles
> through
> Swets, and, to his credit, our customer service representative has
> been
> very good about contacting the Catchword support staff. He's had
> to
> do so repeatedly because even after the support staff tells him
> our
> access is activated, it hasn't been.
>
> Has anyone else experienced similar problems?
>
> Thanks.
>
> Christopher Waldrop
> Serials Coordinator
> Vanderbilt University Library
> Order Services Department
> Tel: 615-343-3831
> Fax: 615-343-8834