Re: Institutional versus personal subscriptions Kim Maxwell 31 May 2006 20:01 UTC
There are both practical and ethical questions to consider here. >From a practical standpoint, it can be dicey to make sure you actually get all the issues (as someone else recently pointed out). But that decision is something you can make at your own library, and since you are facing severe budget cuts you may decide you are willing to spend staff time making sure you get all the issues. The ethical perspective is more clear-cut in my mind. We had a similar situation here a few years ago, and here is my thought process on gift subscriptions: If a publisher wants to donate a subscription to the library (whether the title is free or usually costs money), that's OK. If an individual wants to pay for a subscription and donate it to the library, that's OK if: 1. there is one subscription price for all kinds of subscribers 2. if there is more than one subscription price (e.g., a personal and an institutional price), the donor pays the rate the library would normally pay on its own. I'd say we can't accept copies of a professor's personal copy (or a physician's personal copy) of an Elsevier journal (or Springer, or Wiley, or any other major commercial publisher) (assuming s/he paid the personal rate for it) because once the issues are donated they will be used at the institutional rather than personal level. As for Chinese Journal of Chemistry, according to Ulrich's there is one subscription price for all and it is published by Kexue Chubanshe (no idea who that is). Maybe we could accept this, but see further thoughts below. Progress in Natural Sciences is a Taylor & Francis journal, and does have separate pricing for personal subscriptions vs institutional subscriptions, so I'd say we couldn't accept that one. I'm also thinking that if we base our policy on who publishes the journal and what the subscription rate policy is, we'd have to review that every year for each gift. If we say OK to that Chinese journal, who is to say they won't sell to another publisher next year who might have separate pricing for individuals and institutions, and then we'd no longer be able to accept. I hope this helps you formulate your own policy. Kim _________________________________________________ Kim Maxwell Serials Acquisitions Librarian Associate Head, Acquisitions & Licensing Services Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT Libraries, Room 14E-210 77 Massachusetts Ave. Cambridge, MA 02139-4307 phone: 1-617-253-7028 fax: 1-617-253-2464 email: kmaxwell@mit.edu > -----Original Message----- > From: SERIALST: Serials in Libraries Discussion Forum > [mailto:SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU] On Behalf Of Bluhm-Stieber, Hella > Sent: Wednesday, May 31, 2006 12:27 PM > To: SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU > Subject: [SERIALST] Institutional versus personal subscriptions > > Hello all, > We are facing severe budget cuts and need to cancel half of > our journal subscriptions. The suggestion was made to ask for > donations from physicians who subscribe to certain journals > the library needs. We are concerned about the legal > implications of this. We explained to our management that we > think that this is against copyright law. > One problem is that the doctors can pay for subscriptions > through their educational fund, but cannot donate money from it. > > We think that the donors would have to pay for an > institutional copy in order that we can use it in the library. > I would be grateful for any suggestions or documentation why > this is o.k. or not o.k. > > Thank you very much, > Hella Bluhm-Stieber > > Hella Bluhm-Stieber, MLIS, AHIP > Medical Librarian > Milton J. Chatton Medical Library > Santa Clara Valley Health & Hospital System > 751 S. Bascom Ave. > San Jose, CA 95128 > (408) 885-5654 > Fax (408) 885-5655 > > > > NOTICE: This email message and/or its attachments may contain > information that is confidential or restricted. It is > intended only for the individuals named as recipients in the > message. If you are NOT an authorized recipient, you are > prohibited from using, delivering, distributing, printing, > copying, or disclosing the message or content to others and > must delete the message from your computer. If you have > received this message in error, please notify the sender by > return email. >