Date: Tue, 04 Mar 2003 17:04:58 -0600
From: "John Lucas" <jlucas@rowland.umsmed.edu>
Subject: Re: Lloss of access to an IOP title  -- V. Rani Sinha

Rani:

It is sometimes frustrating to realize that a title that you had
electronic access to is now at another publisher that does not.
Sometimes it was part of the Institutional Print Subscription (bundled)
BUT NOW IS EXTRA ! (even worse)

HOWEVER, in this case, I believe you are in luck.  Sage Publishers does
have its journals accessible (mounted) through Ingenta.  To get a
username/password (register) on Ingenta DOES NOT COST YOU A THING!

Once registered, you can contact Sage and ask them what is the customer
number for the Sage title you have, and that you wish to register on
Ingenta for electronic access.  They should be able to find that number
for you.

Log in to your administrator side of Ingenta, find the title and follow
the directions to register through Ingenta.  (You'll need that Sage
customer number)  You may find other Sage titles  and other publishers
titles that you can get the #'s for to register.

Sometimes it takes a few days to get the registration complete as
Ingenta then contacts the publisher for verification.  Once done, you
should see to what issues you have access to. You can always contact the
Ingenta people for additional help.

For the OCLC ECO, there is an archival  maintenance charge per title to
access through them.  If Sage is one of those where electronic comes as
paret of the Institutional Print Subscription, there should be no
additional charges.  You should find out how you are paying for the OCLC
Services, (what is your regional provider and contact them).

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

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: loss of access to an IOP title
Date: Tue, 04 Mar 2003 16:45:57 -0500
From: "V. Rani Sinha" <sinhav@mail.lafayette.edu>

Dear colleagues,
I would appreciate your help in developing a management strategy to
cover a particular type of loss of holdings, i.e., loss of access to an
e-journal and its electronic backfile due to the publisher
"transferring" the title to another publisher who does not provide
access.  I have recently had my first brush with this type of
loss/theft, and while I am angry, I realize this will always be a
growing risk in the future.

Last fall, Lafayette College was informed that one title in a package of
IOP (Institute of Physics) journals would be transferred to Sage
Publications but not to worry.  Sage would provide access to the current
issues and a backfile dating from 1993.  By the way, both IOP and Sage
are headquartered in London.  The serials assistant tried mightily to
find out about access information from Sage, but no one replied to her
e-mails.

Last week, I was able to contact Sage in the U.S., and to my puzzlement,
I learned that Sage does not publish electronic journals.  Any
electronic access to Sage publications must come through a subscription
to Ingenta or ECO (Electronic Collections Online), two journal
aggregator services.

When I asked IOP in Philadelphia to explain this to me, I was told that
the most knowledgeable people were attending a very important conference
in Austin, TX.  I was assured that IOP would not knowingly have
transferred a journal to a publisher who could not provide comparable
access, but there, it was done.  As for the idea that our $13,000-plus
IOP invoice might be adjusted to reflect the loss of a title, well, I'd
have to wait for that entire delegation to return from Texas.

I have come to the conclusion that Lafayette's account with IOP has been
handled poorly.  We have lost access to a journal and its backfile, and
unlike the usual investigation of a case involving theft or destruction
of library property, we cannot have the satisfaction of seeking any
justice, because this event was legally sanctioned by the user agreement
willingly signed by me.

Can anyone help me see beyond the veil of egg covering my face?  Thanks
very much.
Sincerely,
Rani

Vaswati R. Sinha (Ms.)
Serials & Acquisitions Librarian
Skillman Library
Lafayette College
710 Sullivan Road
Easton, PA  18042-1797
ph : (610) 330-5636
e-mail : sinhav@lafayette.edu