Journal Price Increases (Tony Goodwyn) Bob Persing 13 Apr 2006 17:41 UTC
From: Tony Goodwyn <tonywgoodwyn@yahoo.com> To: SERIALST Subject: Journal Price Increases Date: Thu, 13 Apr 2006 09:19:39 -0700 (PDT) Hello again, I wanted to post this LISnews.com item in case anyone missed it. It links to the latest story about journal price increases and the effects they have on academic library budgets. I've also appended a few thoughts and questions I had about it from my latest blog entry (which also links to the story). I'd appreciate any thoughts or responses. Best, Tony *************from LISnews************ GeekLib writes "As publishers hike journal prices like the oil magnates hike gas prices, more libraries are faced with the decision of what to cancel, or face running into a deficit. Do we cancel print and keep online? Can we do that? How will this impact the patrons? Tough questions to ask, and harder still to answer as states cut funding to higher education institutions. Worse, the patrons notice the cut as well. You can find the whole story here: Libraries Cut Back http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060403/NEWS0104/604030355 and more commentary on it here: http://librarianwench.blogspot.com/ *************from my blog************ I know the continual escalation of journal prices in the academic world pre-dates my relatively new arrival on the library scene, but I think one of the most frustrating characteristics of this topic is that there seems to be little that can be done about it. This story about U of Kentucky and their journal budget woes is undoubtedly the latest in a long line of reports on the problems these price inflations are hurting library budgets and causing deep cuts, both in their funds and the quality of educational resources and information they can provide their patrons. Unfortunately, I have yet to see much in the way of articulated strategies for combating or responding effectively to these hikes. Honestly, what can libraries do to fix this situation? Find a way to stonewall publishers price increases? I haven't seen a particularly effective example of this, so if that's the route we plan to go, we need to seriously re-work our approach. Find a way to keep pace with the price increases? Good luck! Even creative solutions like Open Access and institutional repositories seem to only be contributing so far in alleviating the situation. Libraries are charged with bringing their patrons the resources they need. Many publishers, it seems, are almost directly opposing these efforts with price increases well above the rate of inflation. We HAVE to find a way to deal with this, and soon. I don't pretend to be a genius about this sort of thing, though, so I'm asking what others may have in mind. Tony Goodwyn Serials/Electronic Access Librarian St. Olaf College Northfield, MN 55057