EBSCO's Preliminary Price Projections for 1999 Subscriptions Tommy Mitchell 25 Feb 1998 20:46 UTC
Preliminary Price Projections for 1999 subscriptions, 1998 Subscription Historical Price Analysis BIRMINGHAM, Ala., U.S.A.-- EBSCO Subscription Services is currently projecting a price increase for 1999 subscriptions of 9.5 to 11.5 percent for U.S. journals and 9 to 11 percent for UK journals and journals published in Continental Europe.1 These projections are based on historical price increase data, preliminary information received from publishers and exchange rates available at date of release. Historical Price Analysis Subscription rates for 1998 increased by an average of 9.9 percent for U.S. journals, 12 percent for UK journals and 3.3 percent for journals published in Continental Europe. These figures are based on a weighted average of the actual ordering patterns of a significant sample of large academic and academic medical libraries. Price Increase Factors Ultimate price increases for non-U.S. journals priced by publishers in non-U.S. currencies will depend on the value of the currency in which subscribers are invoiced as compared to the currency of the publisher. The U.S. dollar and British pound continue to remain strong against most Continental European currencies. The British pound also remains marginally strong against the U.S. dollar. For non-U.S. journals priced by publishers in U.S. dollars for the U.S. market, final price increases will depend on the individual publishers' policy of managing foreign currency exchange risk. Electronic journals present a new pricing paradigm for publishers as they must now consider new costs associated with new means of production, as well as new methods of access to journal content. So far, the impact of electronic journals on serials pricing remains uncertain at best. In addition to exchange rates and the expansion of electronic journals, cancellations of current subscriptions and information expansion in the form of increased pages and volumes also have an impact on pricing. The expectation is that these factors will continue to have an impact on pricing similar to recent years. Conservative Budgeting As always, EBSCO recommends all customers add 2 to 5 percent to the estimated price increases for non-domestic journals to protect their budgets from a weakening of the currency in which they are invoiced between now and when subscription rates are paid. EBSCO Subscription Services is part of the EBSCO Information Services group, which provides fully integrated serials access and delivery solutions worldwide through subscription management, reference database development and production, online multi-database access and document delivery. The EBSCO Information Services group also includes EBSCO Publishing and EBSCO Document Services. For more information, please visit us at our World Wide Web site at www.ebsco.com. ___________________________________________________ 1. These projections are preliminary. EBSCO will continue to update price projections based on communications from publishers and changes in currency markets which affect journal prices. Released: February 25, 1998 ___________ Thomas J. Mitchell Public Relations and Communications Manager EBSCO Information Services (205)991-1368 Fax: (205)995-1636