Date: Thu, 13 Jun 2002 16:55:06 -0500
From: "John Lucas" <jlucas@rowland.umsmed.edu>
Subject: General Pharmacology (Elsevier title) Have you heard what they
        have done now?

Colleagues:

I have sent the message below to our subscription agent about what
Elsevier has done with this title.  If you are a subscriber to this one,
AND if you feel the same way as I do, please create your own message to
send to your subscription agent to find out why a cumulative index costs
so much !

Also, I noticed on their website, that they have purchased Hanley &
Belfus Publishers (Philadelphia) a smaller publisher but one with a
number of journals / book series we subscribe to.

THE OPINION EXPRESSED IS MINE ALONE AND DOES NOT REFLECT THE OPINION OF
THE LIBRARY, INSTITUTION !

====  MESSAGE ====

General Pharmacology (Elsevier) was falling behind schedule for some
time.  The latest issue we received has been v. 35 no. 5 (2000)  was
published in May of 2002. There should be an issue 6.  Volumes 36 and 37
were for 2001.

We changed our subscription to you for the 2001 year.  2001 = Almost $
3,000.00.

Also they decided to change the title in 2002 to Vascular pharmacology.
WE HAVE NOT gone ahead and ordered the newer title which still has yet
to publish an issue.

It APPEARS TO me that in order to catch up, Elsevier decided to committ
volumes 36 and 37 for 2001 AS AN AUTHOR AND TITLE  CUMULATIVE INDEX  for
volumes 1-35.

Now they have annual or volume indexes (i believe) so It is my opinion
that they should NOT CHARGE Nearly $ 3,000.00 for a cumulative index!!

I feel that they should return some of that amount to the purchasers
because there is no original material requiring peer review, nor
excessive costs requiring the sum.

Can you querry the home office to contact Elsevier and find out just
what they are going to do?

If they are not going to give its subscribers, some sort of significant
refund we would like to CANCEL our 2001 subscription, (no 2001 issues
have been released) and get a REFUND and forget the cumulative index and
have the nearly $ 3,000.00 to help reduce the 2003 expected price
increases.

John Lucas

Serials Librarian
University of Mississippi Medical Center
2500 North State St
Jackson, MS 39216-4505

(PH) (601) 984-1277
(FAX)  ( 601) 984-1262
<jlucas@rowland.umsmed.edu>