-------- Original Message --------
Subject: ACS web edition
Date: Tue, 29 May 2001 16:22:14 -0400
From: Rani Sinha <sinhav@mail.lafayette.edu>

A  year ago, Lafayette College began offering web access to ACS
journals.  Previously a prohibitive expense for a college without a
graduate program, we joined a consortial agreement with a number of
other Pennsylvania universities and colleges, in order to provide this
valuabel resource to chemistry faculty and students.  The cost was a
modest ~$3.4 K per annum.  The terms of the agreement stipulated that we
would not be able to cancel print subscriptions already ongoing, for the
duration of this consortial agreement.

The chemistry faculty, however, reassessed its needs and asked to cancel
the print subscription for the 2001 year to one of the journals.  ACS
expects payment for the $700 print subscription anyway.  It may very
well be that faculty will request additional print subscriptions be
ended in future, because our science and engineering faculty are
increasingly comfortable with print-only access and would rather the
funds be used for resources other than a duplicate print subscription.

Has anyone else faced this situation?  How did you handle it?

I am in the process of assessing if it is still advantageous for
Lafayette to pay for a ghost subscription, but it doesn't make sense to
me and actually goes against my institution's wish not to have duplicate
holdings in multiple formats.

Thanks.
Rani Sinha, Acquisitions/Serials Librarian
Skillman Library, Lafayette College, Easton, PA  18042