3 messages, 102 lines:
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Date:         Tue, 11 Oct 1994 11:52:26 +0500
From:         Maureen Price <hsec@FHS.CSU.MCMASTER.CA>
Subject:      Re: Publisher charges to A & I services

I agree with Joe Orth. Being included in an A or I is the best
publicity that a journal publisher can get, and giving a free subscription
to the A or I service is really getting off lightly. Obviously the A & I
service cannot charge journal publishers for being included in the index
because that would put into question the integrity of the choice of
journals listed. Wiley must be very hard up or just not understand what
an important factor inclusion in an A or I service is in the decision of a
Library to subscribe to a journal title, to pull such a stunt.

Maureen Price - Health Sciences Campus Librarian. Mohawk College.
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

 On Mon, 10 Oct 1994, Joseph H. Orth wrote:

> Al Henderson (70244.1532@compuserve.com) wrote:
> > At present, your subscription payment to Wiley subsidizes the 'free'
> > subscription to the A&I publisher. Why shouldn't the A&I publisher
> > carry his/her own weight in the marketplace? Won't Wiley have to raise
> > subscription prices more if this particular 'cost' cannot be cut?
>
> I'm almost surprised that publishers don't pay A&I services to include
> their journals in their indexes as well as providing free copies of the
> originals.  An initial question I have always asked before subscribing to
> a journal is "Where is it indexed?"  This lets people back into the
> journal and makes the journal much more useful.  If the A&I services
> would drop a few Wiley journals I daresay that some libraries would also
> drop the subscription since the journals would be harder to use.
>
> Just my opinion.
> --
> Joe Orth                                joseph_h_orth@solinet.net
> Kilpatrick & Cody                       kc4001@sol1.solinet.net
> 1100 Peachtree St., Suite 2800          (404) 815-6250
> Atlanta, GA  30309-4530                 (404) 815-6555 (fax)
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Date:         Tue, 11 Oct 1994 20:20:49 EDT
From:         Albert Henderson <70244.1532@COMPUSERVE.COM>
Subject:      Re: Publisher charges to A & I services
X-To:         "Joseph H. Orth" <kc4001@SOL1.SOLINET.NET>

Joseph H. Orth writes:

>I'm almost surprised that publishers don't pay A&I services to include
>their journals in their indexes as well as providing free copies of the
>originals.  An initial question I have always asked before subscribing to
>a journal is "Where is it indexed?"  This lets people back into the
>journal and makes the journal much more useful.  If the A&I services
>would drop a few Wiley journals I daresay that some libraries would also
>drop the subscription since the journals would be harder to use.

>Just my opinion.

Everything you say is true, but where does this process take us? First
the A&I services become less useful -- like most library collections
that have cut their purchases. Research becomes less productive, since
investigators have less information about research that has been reported
but has not been covered.

On the other hand, out of the $160 billion spent in the U.S. on R&D
each year, I would like to know why is it so hard to maintain a decent
library?  Why should you pay for A&I services when you subscribe to
STM journals? Why shouldn't A&I services carry their own weight in the
marketplace by delivering the service they promise?

Al Henderson INTERNET: 70244.1532@compuserve.com

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Date:         Tue, 11 Oct 1994 20:20:54 EDT
From:         Albert Henderson <70244.1532@COMPUSERVE.COM>
Subject:      Re: Publisher charges to A & I services
X-To:         Lionel Robson <l.robson@unsw.edu.au>

Lionel Robson writes:

>Maybe I have got it wrong, but don't A&I services do publishers a "favour"
>by bringing the publishers stuff to the notice of consumers?  Should not
>publishers pay A&I outfits?  Lionel Robson.

You might be right about services that cover consumer publications, like TIME
and NEWSEEK. These publications generate the largest share of income and
profits from the sale of advertising - by delivering an audience to
advertisers. They pay large commissions to any service that builds
circulation.

However, Wiley's journals are scientific, technical and medical. If the
A&I services promise 'comprehensive' coverage to subscribers (mostly
libraries) and their users, then the market is an industrial one and
the A&I service delivers information to researchers. Moreover, the
existence of A&I services and electronic document delivery technologies
have become an excuse for libraries to cancel their subscriptions. In
this sense the A&I publishers encourage a loss of income to Wiley by
enabling researchers to search and then order via ILL.

Al Henderson 70244.1532@compuserve.com