Well I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one being 'driven up the wall'. Looks
like the situation of the last few years will be repeated again this year:
In the 'winding down' days running up to Christmas, my colleagues are all
enjoying the festive atmosphere whilst I'm having fun with our ejournals
trying to ensure that we don't lose access for the new year! I was naively
hoping that things were getting better!
I think this is also the sort of information that we need to be sharing
somehow - in a similar way to the previous suggestion of sharing info about
problems. We need some central (non-partisan!!) store that we can all
access.
Won't help with publishers' timing, but would mean that we wouldn't all be
tearing our hair out trying to gather the same info. and having huge
difficulties (as Lesley says) doing so.
For info:
Wiley have just informed us that 'free with print' e-access will no longer
be available from January.
Does anyone know whether the same applies to :
Blackwell Publishers
ScienceDirect Web Editions (Elsevier)
Sandra Morris
Electronic Information Development Officer
Hugh Owen Library
Information Services,
University of Wales, Aberystwyth, Penglais Campus,
Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, SY23 3DZ
Email: [log in to unmask]
Extension: 1892 Phone: (01970) 621892 FAX: (01970) 622404
-----Original Message-----
From: An informal open list, set up under the auspices of the United
Kingdom Seri [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Judy
Taylor
Sent: 16 October 2001 15:29
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Journal Subscription Options for 2002 - Why Do So Many
Publishers Leave It So Late to Make Their Subscription
This is driving me up the wall too - we had just got our
cancellations thrashed out for this year and then two publishers
announced they were moving the goalposts on their online deals -
both in such a way as to be more expensive for us, of course. So
we have to make more cancellations - and soon, or we'll be told it's
too late to get the money back. I've already complained directly to
one of the publishers concerned but got the usual bland response.
And no doubt there are more such announcements to come before
the end of the year.
The reasons we need to renew so early are entirely, as far as I can
see, down to the publishers: firstly, that they are the ones putting
pressure on our agents to confirm renewals as early as possible;
and secondly, in the case of online subscriptions, bitter experience
over the last few years has shown us that if publishers don't get our
cheque by about the end of October our access is liable to be
terminated in January because the cheque will still be sitting in an
in-tray somewhere in their finance department and their records
won't show any payment received.
In effect, serials librarians are being required to make a finanical
commitment well before many publishers are able, or willing, to
give us the information on which to base this commitment. This
comes pretty close to asking us to commit financial misconduct
against the institution which employs us. And even if you don't take
that view of it (though I suspect an auditor, at least, would) it is
pretty lousy customer service on the part of publishers - though no
worse, I'm sorry to say, than I've come to expect.
Judy Taylor
Assistant Librarian
(Periodicals / Academic Liaison)
DUNDEE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY
DUNDEE DD1 4HN
tel: extn 5184, external dial 01382-345184
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