Health Sciences Libraries Join SPARC (Steve Murden) ERCELAA@ctrvax.Vanderbilt.Edu 08 Mar 1999 14:33 UTC
Date: Sat, 06 Mar 1999 17:33:48 -0500 From: "Steven H. Murden" <stevemurden@MINDSPRING.COM> Subject: Health Sciences Libraries Join SPARC I saw this recently and thought it might interest other list members. Steve Murden ************************************************************* For Immediate Release February 26, 1999 For more information, contact: Alison Buckholtz, 202-296-2296 or alison@arl.org HEALTH SCIENCES LIBRARIES JOIN SPARC MLA, AAHSL Seeking Solution to the Journals Crisis Washington, DC -- The Scholarly Publishing & Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) announced today that the Medical Library Association (MLA) and the Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries (AAHSL) have joined the organization. SPARC is a coalition of academic institutions and research libraries that uses library buying power to support lower cost alternatives to high-priced science journals. MLA, a professional organization of more than 1,100 institutions and 3,800 individuals in the health sciences information field, has been increasingly concerned about the escalating cost of medical journals, according to Jacqueline D. Doyle, MLA President. "This alliance with SPARC is one way to combat rising journal prices, and finding a solution is in the best interests of our members and the people who they serve," Doyle said. "Informed health care decisions are essential for quality patient care. The ability to make these decisions is directly related to easy and affordable access to the latest medical research published in scholarly journals." MLA members spend over $200 million on journal collection development, and membership includes those who are also members of AAHSL. AAHSL, composed of the directors of libraries of 142 accredited U.S. and Canadian medical schools belonging to the Association of American Medical Colleges, has been concerned about the impact of journal prices on library services. "Budgets of academic health sciences libraries have been hit particularly hard by the continually escalating prices of scientific journals," said Patricia Mickelson, President of AAHSL. "Since AAHSL member libraries are collectively spending over $100 million annually for journal subscriptions, it is in our interest to support competition in scientific journal publishing in order to ultimately reduce journal prices." Health sciences libraries are on the front lines of the journal crisis, according to Rick Johnson, SPARC Enterprise Director. "Between 1994 and 1998, the average price for an Index Medicus title jumped more than 50 percent, and health sciences libraries suffer when costs rise this dramatically," said Rick Johnson, SPARC Enterprise Director. "MLA and AAHSL have a critical role to play on this issue, and SPARC welcomes their active participation." SPARC membership has doubled since its formal launch in June 1997. Since that time several publishing partners have joined its effort, including the Royal Society of Chemistry and the American Chemical Society. Both of these societies offer new lower-cost alternatives to high-price journals in return for SPARC endorsement. SPARC-supported journals include Evolutionary Ecology Research (www.evolutionary-ecology.com); PhysChemComm (www.rsc.org/physcc) which is now available online; and Organic Letters (www.pubs.acs.org/journals), which launches in July 1999. ### SPARC is an alliance of universities and research libraries that support increased competition in scientific journal publishing. Its membership currently numbers over 150 institutions and library consortia. In addition to MLA and AAHSL, SPARC affiliates outside of the U.S. include the Canadian Association of Research Libraries/Association des bibliothques de recherche du Canada (CARL), the Council of Australian University Librarians (CAUL), the Conference of Directors of Research Libraries (Denmark), and the Standing Conference of National and University Libraries (SCONUL, UK & Ireland). SPARC has been endorsed by the Association of American Universities, the Association of American University Presses, the National Association of State Universities & Land Grant Colleges, and the Big 12 Provosts. More information on SPARC is available at www.arl.org/sparc. SPARC is an initiative of the Association of Research Libraries.