In reply to Ann Okerson's Major Scientific Society Future Publications
   Program Strategies "Scenario":

   My reply is from the standpoint of a serials librarian facing not only
a dismal budgetary situation, but also the double whammy of proliferation
of new journal titles and all the records that must be created & maintained
for them. If the society ceased publishing the original journal, then:

a. YES-- IF the cost of the 8 individual hard-copy speciality journals would
be THE SAME AS the current subscription price of the hard-copy "consolidated"
journal.   (Ha -- Dream on...)

b. YES-- IF sufficient LAN access were available at no extra charge. (But I
reserve the right to equivocate here, because most of our current purchases of
CD-ROMs are reference tools, with no stated plans or policies yet in the di-
rection of purchasing full-text journals on CD-ROM.)

c. NO-- This seems redundant & extravagant in the extreme.

d. OTHER:  Except for a profit motive, WHY would a nonprofit society even
contemplate discontinuing the hard-copy, "consolidated" journal in favor of
only the 8 individual hard-copy speciality journals in the first place?? This
move would force the current subscribers of the consolidated journal to HAVE
to purchase the 8 speciality journals or the CD-ROM, both of which would be
far more costly monetarily. In addition, the 8 separate hard-copy titles
would be costly in the areas of binding and records creation/maintenance, not
to mention the additional shelving space and reshelving maintenance that would
be necessary.  If the CD-ROM product would not have a myriad of stings
attached (must have both hard copy & CD-ROM before there is any discount in
the price, must pay an exorbitant additional fee for LAN access, etc.), and if
our library began to go in the direction of full-text journals on CD-ROM in
lieu of hard-copy, then the CD-ROM version of the consolidated journal would
seem a viable option. (And this makes me very interested in asking the science
librarians what they think of this "scenario"...).  The glut of new journal
titles and proliferation of bibliographic/physical splits in the sci/tech area
is quickly doing us in. Please advise these (unnamed) major scientic societies
AWAY from such irresponsible practices.

E. Gaele Gillespie/Asst. Head, Serials
University of Kansas Libraries
Lawrence, KS  66045-2800   (913)864-3535   GGILLESP@UKANVM