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Date: Thu, 26 Feb 1998 09:01:38 -0600
From: Tommy Mitchell <tjmitchell@EBSCO.COM>
Subject: Updated 1999 Serials Price Projections from EBSCO Subscription Se              rvices

One update for the purpose of further clarity has been made to the
information released yesterday from EBSCO concerning 1999 preliminary
price projections. "Last year's historical price analysis included the
impact of currency and was based on U.S. academic and academic medical
libraries," as specified in the second sentence of the second paragraph.
__________________________________________________________________________
Preliminary Price Projections for 1999 subscriptions, 1998 Subscription
Historical Price Analysis

BIRMINGHAM, Ala., U.S.A.-- EBSCO Subscription Services is currently
projecting a price increase for 1999 subscriptions of 9.5 to 11.5
percent for U.S. journals and 9 to 11 percent for UK journals and
journals published in Continental Europe.1 These projections are based
on historical price increase data, preliminary information received from
publishers and exchange rates available at date of release.

Historical Price Analysis
Subscription rates for 1998 increased by an average of 9.9 percent for
U.S. journals, 12 percent for UK journals and 3.3 percent for journals
published in Continental Europe. These figures include the impact of
currency and are based on a weighted average of the actual ordering
patterns of a significant sample of large U.S. academic and U.S.
academic medical libraries.

Price Increase Factors
Ultimate price increases for non-U.S. journals priced by publishers in
non-U.S. currencies will depend on the value of the currency in which
subscribers are invoiced as compared to the currency of the publisher.
The U.S. dollar and British pound continue to remain strong against most
Continental European currencies. The British pound also remains
marginally strong against the U.S. dollar. For non-U.S. journals priced
by publishers in U.S. dollars for the U.S. market, final price increases
will depend on the individual publishers' policy of managing foreign
currency exchange risk.

Electronic journals present a new pricing paradigm for publishers as
they must now consider new costs associated with new means of
production, as well as new methods of access to journal content. So far,
the impact of electronic journals on serials pricing remains uncertain
at best.

In addition to exchange rates and the expansion of electronic journals,
cancellations of current subscriptions and information expansion in the
form of increased pages and volumes also have an impact on pricing. The
expectation is that these factors will continue to have an impact on
pricing similar to recent years.

Conservative Budgeting
As always, EBSCO recommends all customers add 2 to 5 percent to the
estimated price increases for non-domestic journals to protect their
budgets from a weakening of the currency in which they are invoiced
between now and when subscription rates are paid.

1. These projections are preliminary. EBSCO will continue to update
price projections based on communications from publishers and changes in
currency markets which affect journal prices.

Released: February 25, 1998

___________
Thomas J. Mitchell
Public Relations and Communications Manager
EBSCO Information Services
(205)991-1368
Fax: (205)995-1636