As was recently pointed out on SERIALST, Blackwell acquired the
International Communication Association's journals for 2006. Blackwell
is forcing libraries to either subscribe to all 4 titles at $850/year,
or to none of the four. For my library, we're paying the $850 to
continue the Journal of Communication, priced at $241 in 2004.

One of the 4 titles included in the package is the Journal of
Computer-Mediated Communication. It turns out that this title is not
available through Blackwell Synergy. But it is an Open Access title.

I, for one, believe it is poor business practice to market an
all-or-nothing package in the first place, but to promote an Open Access
title as part of the bundle adds insult to injury. They should at least
provide access to it through their online service!

This concludes my rant.

Steve Black
Reference, Serials, and Instruction Librarian
The College of Saint Rose
392 Western Avenue
Albany, NY 12203-1419
blacks@strose.edu
(518)458-5494