We always look very carefully at journal prices.  If the usage does not justify price, it gets cancelled.  There are no sacred cows in our library.  We would cancel the New England Journal of Medicine if usage did not justify price.  We do not have a site license for the American Medical Association journals for that reason.  Publishers' online usage statistics make it possible for us to calculate what we call a "Bang for the Buck," (B4B) factor:  the cost of the journal divided by the full-text displays.  The B4B enables us to justify our two most expensive titles, which are $ 11,500 and $ 5,400 respectively.

A lot of usage is convenience usage.  Unless the person is doing a comprehensive review of a topic, or unless there is little information on a topic, the person does not pursue request an ILL.

Rather than complain about the price increases, cancel the journals, BOTH print AND online.  That is the language that publishers understand.  If enough libraries do this, perhaps SLACK will ge the message.

Ellen Rothbaum, MS, AHIP
Assistant Director
Daniel Carroll Payson Medical Library
North Shore University Hospital
300 Community Drive
Manhasset, NY 11030
ellenr@nshs.edu
Tel:  (516) 562-4324
Fax:  (516) 562-2865

-----Original Message-----
From: SERIALST: Serials in Libraries Discussion Forum
[mailto:SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU] On Behalf Of Connie Foster
Sent: Friday, August 10, 2007 9:43 AM
To: SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU
Subject: [SERIALST] SLACK price increases

Has anyone else been aghast (or should we be surprised at any pricing
these days) of the recent SLACK, Inc. 2008 model for print and
print+online? Based on fte our print subscription, for example, to AAOHN

is $224 and then the online with print goes to $2,240. The rest of the
titles follow the same giant leap pattern ($250/$2500, etc.). I'm not
real good at % but I think this is astronomical.
And the sad thing is, like so many of these offers for free online with
login, we just set up that mechanism for 2007, only to have that pulled
away. Our health sciences librarian is pretty conscientious about
following these offers and we try to accommodate when possible, but my
basic instinct says not to do it.
Just need company in my misery.
Connie Foster

--
************************************************************************
******************
Connie Foster, Professor and Head, Dept. of Library Technical Services
Western Kentucky University Libraries
Editor, Serials Review
1906 College Heights Blvd. #11067
Bowling Green KY 42101-1067
connie.foster@wku.edu  tel:270-745-6151 fax:270-745-3958

	"Creating Information Possibilities"

	TopSCHOLAR(tm) http://digitalcommons.wku.edu

Electronic submission for authors at http://ees.elsevier.com/serrev
http://sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00987913

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The information contained in this electronic e-mail transmission
and any attachments are intended only for the use of the individual
or entity to whom or to which it is addressed, and may contain
information that is privileged, confidential and exempt from
disclosure under applicable law. If the reader of this communication
is not the intended recipient, or the employee or agent responsible
for delivering this communication to the intended recipient, you
are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution, copying
or disclosure of this communication and any attachment is strictly
prohibited. If you have received this transmission in error, please
notify the sender immediately by telephone and electronic mail,
and delete the original communication and any attachment from any
computer, server or other electronic recording or storage device
or medium. Receipt by anyone other than the intended recipient is
not a waiver of any attorney-client, physician-patient or other
privilege. Thank you.