There are both practical and ethical questions to consider here.

>From a practical standpoint, it can be dicey to make sure you actually get
all the issues (as someone else recently pointed out).  But that decision is
something you can make at your own library, and since you are facing severe
budget cuts you may decide you are willing to spend staff time making sure
you get all the issues.

The ethical perspective is more clear-cut in my mind.  We had a similar
situation here a few years ago, and here is my thought process on gift
subscriptions:

If a publisher wants to donate a subscription to the library (whether the
title is free or usually costs money), that's OK.

If an individual wants to pay for a subscription and donate it to the
library, that's OK if:

1. there is one subscription price for all kinds of subscribers
2. if there is more than one subscription price (e.g., a personal and an
institutional price), the donor pays the rate the library would normally pay
on its own.

I'd say we can't accept copies of a professor's personal copy (or a
physician's personal copy) of an Elsevier journal (or Springer, or Wiley, or
any other major commercial publisher) (assuming s/he paid the personal rate
for it) because once the issues are donated they will be used at the
institutional rather than personal level.

As for Chinese Journal of Chemistry, according to Ulrich's there is one
subscription price for all and it is published by Kexue Chubanshe (no idea
who that is).  Maybe we could accept this, but see further thoughts below.

Progress in Natural Sciences is a Taylor & Francis journal, and does have
separate pricing for personal subscriptions vs institutional subscriptions,
so I'd say we couldn't accept that one.

I'm also thinking that if we base our policy on who publishes the journal
and what the subscription rate policy is, we'd have to review that every
year for each gift.  If we say OK to that Chinese journal, who is to say
they won't sell to another publisher next year who might have separate
pricing for individuals and institutions, and then we'd no longer be able to
accept.

I hope this helps you formulate your own policy.

Kim

_________________________________________________
Kim Maxwell
Serials Acquisitions Librarian
Associate Head, Acquisitions & Licensing Services
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
MIT Libraries, Room 14E-210
77 Massachusetts Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02139-4307
phone: 1-617-253-7028
fax:   1-617-253-2464
email: kmaxwell@mit.edu

> -----Original Message-----
> From: SERIALST: Serials in Libraries Discussion Forum
> [mailto:SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU] On Behalf Of Bluhm-Stieber, Hella
> Sent: Wednesday, May 31, 2006 12:27 PM
> To: SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU
> Subject: [SERIALST] Institutional versus personal subscriptions
>
> Hello all,
> We are facing severe budget cuts and need to cancel half of
> our journal subscriptions. The suggestion was made to ask for
> donations from physicians who subscribe to certain journals
> the library needs. We are concerned about the legal
> implications of this. We explained to our management that we
> think that this is against copyright law.
> One problem is that the doctors can pay for subscriptions
> through their educational fund, but cannot donate money from it.
>
> We think that the donors would have to pay for an
> institutional copy in order that we can use it in the library.
> I would be grateful for any suggestions or documentation why
> this is o.k. or not o.k.
>
> Thank you very much,
> Hella Bluhm-Stieber
>
> Hella Bluhm-Stieber, MLIS, AHIP
> Medical Librarian
> Milton J. Chatton Medical Library
> Santa Clara Valley Health & Hospital System
> 751 S. Bascom Ave.
> San Jose, CA 95128
> (408) 885-5654
> Fax (408) 885-5655
>
>
>
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