-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Individual vs. institutional subscriptions -
Date: Wed, 5 Dec 2001 10:31:59 -0500
From: Albert Henderson <chessNIC@compuserve.com>

on 4 Dec 2001 Susan C Shelly <susancs@goshen.edu> wrote:

> I'd like to know if any members have been dealing with the dilemma of
> institutional vs. individual subscriptions to journals.  This question
> comes up from time to time because institutional subscriptions usually
> cost significantly more than individual subscriptions.  ($660.00 vs.
> $28.00 in one example.)  Probably like many of you, my initial thought
> was "Horrors!  No!  Never! How unethical!" but our financial realities
> demand that we look objectively at every possible way to save money.
>
> Utilizing individual subscriptions could go something like this:
> certain faculty members now subscribe individually to professional,
> scholarly journals at the lower individual rate.  We need the journals
> in our library.  The faculty members are willing to pass their issues
> along to the library.  The library would pay for the individual
> subscription.  The library could save thousands of dollars per year, and
> the faculty members have no ethical dilemmas with this.

        Your faculty members probably have not read the fine
        print in the rules of membership that prohibit such
        activities.

        Aside from the administrative problems inherent in
        having non-library people handle receipts of issues,
        you will create an economic problem. By undermining
        the revenue supporting front-end publication costs,
        you may force publishers to close the gap between
        rates. Only one rate can survive: the library rate.

        Best wishes,

Albert Henderson
Former Editor, PUBLISHING RESEARCH QUARTERLY 1994-2000
<70244.1532@compuserve.com>