Hi,

I thought some members of the list who subscribe to collections on Project
MUSE might be interested in the following press release I saw on liblicense.
I also understand that this information has already been made to Project
MUSE administrators. Apologies to those who have already seen it.

I haven't had too much time to digest this information, but we thought that
the publishers and journals contained in the Project MUSE collections would
be relatively stable. As we recently upgraded our Project MUSE subscription
to the full collection for 2004 and were just about to begin the process of
cancelling print subscriptions to journals that are part of the Project MUSE
collections, we now find ourselves not quite sure how to proceed. Is it
sensible for us to cancel print subscriptions to journals that are part of a
collection such as this?

What do others think of the issues raised by such a move?

Cheers
Lesley

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lesley Crawshaw, Faculty Information Consultant,
Learning and Information Services,
University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, AL10 9AB UK
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
phone: 01707 284662 fax: 01707 284666
web: http://www.herts.ac.uk/lis/subjects/natsci/ejournal/
list owner: [log in to unmask]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

-----Original Message-----
From: [log in to unmask]
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Donna Blagdan
Sent: 21 August 2004 01:43
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Duke University Press Journals on Project Muse


August 19, 2004
For more information, contact:
Donna Blagdan, [log in to unmask]
http://www.dukeupress.edu/edukecollection

Duke University Press announces changes in its Project Muse offerings
and introduces a new electronic journals package

With the commencement of its new science, technology, and medicine (STM)
publishing initiative and the accompanying need for more direct influence
over the online presence of its journals, Duke University Press is removing
current content of eighteen of its journals from Project Muse (see list
below) and making these journals available instead through an electronic
subscription package of its own. Nine journals will continue to be available
on Project Muse (see list below), as will back volumes
(2000-2004) for the eighteen withdrawn journals.

"This was a difficult decision for us," explains Duke University Press
Director Steve Cohn. "We have been proud to be a partner of Project Muse
since Johns Hopkins opened its doors to sister nonprofit publishers in 1999,
and besides Johns Hopkins University Press we have been the project's
largest and most active participant. However, we are now embarking on a set
of programs we hadn't envisioned five years ago. As we continue to build our
own online projects, and in particular with the launch of our STM
initiative, we realize that it will be critical for us to control more
directly the distribution and online presence of our journals. We are very
happy to keep a subset of our collection in Project Muse, and we expect to
remain an active participant in the program. We look forward to continuing
to build our relationships with libraries, consortia, and other nonprofit
entities."

Recognizing the budget crises with which many academic institutions are now
faced, and to mitigate the impact of the withdrawal of these titles from
Project Muse on these institutions, Duke University Press is pleased to
offer continued electronic access to the eighteen withdrawn titles through
an electronic package that honors whatever academic institutions paid for
Duke University Press titles as part of their 2004 Project Muse full package
subscription. In addition to the eighteen titles no longer available through
Project Muse, the new electronic package will include the journal Labor:
Studies in Working-Class History of the Americas (new in 2004), as well as
the nine titles that will remain available through Project Muse.

In 2004, Duke University Press journals comprised approximately 16% of the
Project Muse full package, as calculated by such measures as number of
pages, usage statistics, and share of total price. Thus, for 2005-on the
provision of valid documentation (such as a Project Muse invoice)-Duke
University Press will offer to institutional subscribers and consortia its
full electronic package at 16% of what the institution or consortium paid
for its full Project Muse package in 2004, with all discounts (even those no
longer offered by Project Muse in 2005) applied. This is an interim solution
that will remain in place for 2005, until Duke University Press can finalize
more permanent hosting and other arrangements for its own electronic
journals package (scheduled for 2006).

For more information regarding Duke University Press's electronic package
contact [log in to unmask] or visit
www.dukeupress.edu/edukecollection.

Duke University Press journals withdrawn from Project Muse (current
content only, certain back issues remain archived):

American Literature
American Speech
boundary 2
Camera Obscura
differences: A Journal of Feminist Cultural Studies Ethnohistory French
Historical Studies Hispanic American Historical Review History of Political
Economy Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law Journal of Medieval and
Early Modern Studies
MLQ: Modern Language Quarterly
Poetics Today
Public Culture
Radical History Review
Social Text
South Atlantic Quarterly
Theater

Duke University Press journals with current content still available
through Project Muse:

American Literary Scholarship
Common Knowledge
Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa, and the Middle East
Eighteenth-Century Life
GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies
Mediterranean Quarterly
Pedagogy: Critical Approaches to Teaching Literature, Language,
  Composition, and Culture
positions: east asia cultures critique
Social Science History

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