I still think you can't lump publishers together; there are going to be
*many* explanations for the price increases.  You have a list of 227 titles
with a price increase of more than 10% from 2004 to 2005.  How many
publishers does that list represent?  What kind of publishers are they --
e.g, big commercial, society, small commercial, university presses?  Is
there a difference among the kinds of publishers and what the reasoning is
behind the increases?  Are they charging more because instead of offering
online free with print, subscribers now must pay explicitly for online and
there are now more than one subscription option?

We haven't paid all our major renewal invoices just yet, but since I've
heard from a few people on the list that everyone is noticing price
increases this year (although, when have you seen a year that *didn't* have
big price increases, at least in the last decade?), I'll be watching our
list closely.   If I notice any trends, answering any of the questions I've
posed above, I'd be glad to report out to the list.

Kim

At 08:39 AM 11/17/2004 -0500, you wrote:
>Hi Kim
>
>Just to keep the conversation going -- I have a list of 227 titles
>which have increased more than 10% for 2005.  We are doing an analysis
>ourselves since our vendor cannot provide the price history until mid
>2005.  We are looking at each title individually and I think that it is
>going to be necessary for publishers to explain exactly how changing
>their pricing model is a true reflection of what the price should
>actually be.
>
>Sandy
>
> >>> kmaxwell@MIT.EDU 11/16/2004 5:08:19 PM >>>
>
>Hi Sandy,
>
>I think you need to look at the individual price increases, rather than
>lumping them all together.  Here is some quick research on the titles you
>mention:
>
>Harvard Law Review
>For years, we've paid about $50, most recently $55 last year.  Now, our
>cost is $200. I suspect HLR has instituted an individual vs institution
>subscription price recently, though I can't tell for sure from their web
>site; if you have access to the actual issues, compare the statement on the
>verso of the title page.  However, the web site also says that "Nonprofit
>institutions may receive a discounted annual subscription for $95."  My
>guess is that your subscription agent and my subscription agent are unaware
>of this special price, and should be made aware of it.  See
>http://www.harvardlawreview.org/order.shtml#subscriptions for more
>details.
>
>Personnel Psychology
>I think this title just switched to Blackwell Publishing; they only have
>v.57:no.3 (2004:Sept.) up on their web site, and I seem to recall it used
>to be published without the benefit of a commercial publisher.  We've been
>paying $70/year for several years now.  Prices are now at
>http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/subs.asp?ref=0031-5826.  For an
>institution, the cost for 2005 will be around $300, depending upon what
>kind of subscription you want (premium print plus online, standard print
>plus online, or online only).
>
>We don't subscribe to the other title you mention, so I can't comment on
>that one in terms of our own price history.  Based on these two examples, I
>think you need to look at changes in publisher and changes in subscription
>models.  That should give you a clearer picture of why certain titles are
>increasing more than you might expect.
>
>Kim
>_______________________________________
>Kim Maxwell
>Serials Acquisitions Librarian
>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
>
>At 04:39 PM 11/16/2004 -0500, you wrote:
> >Hi Serialsters:
> >
> >I just need to ask -- has anybody else noticed that some subscription
> >prices have skyrocketed to over 100% or higher on their invoices?  I
> >just wanted to confirm that everyone else has seen these as well i.e.
> >Harvard Law Review, Marriage and Family Review, Personnel Psychology
>and
> >I have a growing list I could put up here.
> >
> >I am used to price increases of 7-10 % but this is just crazy --?  Is
> >anybody else experiencing higher than usual increases on
>subscriptions?
> >Are the publishers having a free for all now?
> >
> >Sandy Srivastava
> >
> >Sandhya D. Srivastava
> >Assistant Professor
> >Serials Librarian
> >Hofstra University
> >Axinn Library
> >123 Hofstra University
> >Hempstead, New York 11550
> >Telephone: (516) 463 - 5959
> >Fax: (516) 463 - 6438
> >Email: librsds@hofstra.edu <mailto:librsds@hofstra.edu>