I thought this pricing policy for American Chemical Society e journals might
interest list members.
Ian Winship
University of Northumbria
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From: Anthony Durniak <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Rationale for ACS Web Journal Prices
To: [log in to unmask]
A fundamental principle is our belief that the Web editions of our journals
are far more valuable than their print counterparts. True, electronic
journals don't incur the costs of printing and mailing, but we are investing
a comparable sum - in some cases even more - to develop and produce
feature-rich electronic editions. Among these features are the following:
o Powerful search software that makes it easy to find articles by
author and key word;
o Additional information not found in print, e.g., electronic data from
authors including interactive molecular models, animations, and extensive
files of supporting information;
o Links to related information so readers can follow a thread of
research. Examples include hypertext links to the Protein Data Bank and
GenBank and links to bibliographic databases such as Medline's PubMed
service and the new ChemPort service from our colleagues at Chemical Abstracts;
o Rapid publication in advance of print with our new Articles ASAP (As
Soon As Publishable) which, starting in January 1998, will post
peer-reviewed and completely edited articles to the Web up to 11 weeks
before they'll appear in print.
o A choice of display formats. We offer both interactive HTML for
rapid Web transmission and viewing on the screen as well as page images in
Adobe's PDF format, which is ideal for printing.
At the same time, we believe that delivering journals over the Web provides
scientists and librarians with important benefits to help them improve their
use of the journals while controlling library operating costs.
o More extensive and rapid access for library patrons. Waiting for a
printed journal to be routed or making trips to the library to retrieve a
copy of an article becomes unnecessary. An electronic edition can be
available to all of a library's patrons simultaneously at the instant an
issue is released (depending, of course, on the subscription option chosen).
o Access to multiple years of information. Each of our journal
subscriptions in 1998 includes access to all the material published since
January 1996, and this archive will grow.
o Reduced cost of maintenance. The electronic edition's archive take
up no shelf space, does not require staff to check in new issues or
re-shelve used issues, does not require binding, and is available to patrons
even if the library is closed.
o Easy installation. The electronic journals work with standard Web
browsers and helper applications such as Adobe's Acrobat - no special
software or hardware needs to be installed on the users' machines.
Because of these features, we believe that electronic journals will
dramatically change subscription patterns by our customers. We expect that
as libraries make journals available to their organizations over the Web,
many ACS members will cancel their personal print subscriptions. Also, we
expect large organizations that still buy multiple print subscriptions will
eliminate duplication within the university or corporation. This
consolidation may take time since the duplicate subscriptions are often
ordered by departments separate from the library, but we believe it will
happen. Indeed, it is already occurring in academia as institutions join
consortia to coordinate their journal subscriptions, not only within one
organization, but between separate organizations in the same city or state.
Our pricing must take all these factors into account. No member dues go
towards the ACS journals. The journals must not only sustain themselves
financially but also yield enough surplus to fund the development of new
journals and new technologies. Therefore, we must establish prices that
allow us to generate sufficient revenue, despite the changing subscription
patterns likely to be caused by the electronic journals.
At the same time, we want our prices to provide flexibility to customers.
Rather than simply charge a flat percentage in addition to print, we've
taken a more creative (albeit more complicated) approach. Small
institutions can purchase access for just the departments that will use the
journal by registering the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the Class C
Subnets serving those departments. Larger institutions that need to
register more than 10 subnets will find it more economical to purchase the
site license, which provides unlimited access to anyone in the organization
within 5 miles of the library. In addition, libraries can buy only the
titles they need - they don't have to take our entire package of electronic
journals. And they can take the electronic edition by itself or in
combination with print. As always, ACS members can subscribe for their
personal use.
What does this mean in real dollars and cents? To give you an overview of
our prices, let me list the major categories below:
o Basic Web-only library subscription for a Class-C Subnet costs 5%
more than a library print subscription. Additional Class-C Subnets can be
registered for a small fee.
o The lowest price a library customer can pay to get both print and
the first Web access for one Class-C Subnet is 20% more than print.
o Web-only site license for an entire location is 65% more than a
library print subscription.
o The highest price a library would pay to provide access to an
entire site and still receive print is equal to 90% more than the base print
price. This means an entire site can have access for less than the cost of
one additional print subscription.
o ACS members can subscribe to a Web journal for 15% more than print.
Access is provided to a single User ID and Password. The most an ACS member
will pay to receive both print and Web access is about 50% more than print
alone.
To illustrate our approach specifically, here are the 1998 prices for the
Journal of the American Chemical Society:
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Member Prices, 1998
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JACS Print Subscription $129
JACS Web Subscription $148
JACS Print + Web $189
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Institutional Prices, 1998
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JACS Print Subscription $1,865
JACS Web-Only with 1 Class C $1,958
JACS Print + 1 Class C Web $2,238
Each additional Class C $187
JACS Web Site License $3,091
JACS Print + Web Site License $3,525
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Because the print prices for our journals are so low compared to those
charged by most other publishers, the absolute dollars a customer will pay
extra for the electronic edition will be quite competitive; a straight
comparison by percentages can be misleading.
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