The Biochemical Society is committed to supporting the scientific research and teaching communities through this testing time. The Society has therefore asked Portland Press Limited, as its not-for-profit publishing subsidiary, to work with those of you who have paid for 2003 subscriptions through divine/RoweCom. We hope to ensure that online access to the Society's journals: Biochemical Journal, Biochemical Society Transactions and Clinical Science, is maintained until the payment situation is clarified or to the end of 2003, whichever is the sooner.

In return, the Biochemical Society asks for a commitment from the affected institutions that they will continue to subscribe to its journals for the following year, 2004. We will work with those affected to ensure that they do not have to pay a second time for 2003 subscriptions to maintain online access.

This policy reflects the Biochemical Society's commitment to stable scholarly communication.

Your commitment to subscribe in 2004 should be a good faith commitment.

We hope that the money paid for subscriptions will be recovered and eventually used to renew the original subscriptions. If only a portion is recovered by the institutions, or subscription agents who take over the divine/RoweCom business, we hope to receive a proportional share in return for our pledge of uninterrupted service. We trust that this action will be seen as an opportunity for the community at large to work to restore the reputation of the subscription business in general.

For further information, please contact Adam Marshall (adam.marshall@portlandpress.com)

Glyn Jones
Executive Secretary, Biochemical Society

Portland Press Limited
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