---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 5 Oct 2000 10:26:44 -0400
From: Steve Black <blacks@MAIL.STROSE.EDU>
Subject: Dividing the market  Re: Haworth press journals

An economist might explain that having different subscription prices for
different user groups is really due to the buyers' willingness to pay.  The
thinking is that an individual is less likely to renew if the price rises
[individual demand is relatively elastic], while a library is more likely to
renew even if the price rises [institutional demand is relatively
inelastic].  Dividing the market in this way is a rational, economically
sound way to maximize subscription revenue.

The example I immediately think of is the American Chemical Society, which
has a multi-tiered price structure based on FTE.

Assuming that Haworth Press is behaving rationally, they must think that
libraries have more willingness to pay than other types of institutions do.
Whether that is true is up to us (and the people we serve).

Steve Black
Reference, Instruction, and Serials Librarian
Neil Hellman Library
The College of Saint Rose
392 Western Ave.
Albany, NY 12203
(518) 548-5494
blacks@mail.strose.edu