Hello,

Please allow me to step onto my soapbox. Musical Quarterly is a prime
example of why publishers need to adopt a different pricing model for online
only subscriptions. The fact that a publication is behind schedule is moot
in the online environment. Our 2009 renewal payment for Musical Quarterly
should purchase online access for the 2009 calendar year to all issues,
regardless of their cover date, including archives within the parameters
established by the publisher.

In the print world, a library didn't want to pay for v.90 (2007) until the
publisher had finished publishing v.89 (2006) no matter what year it was
when v.89 was completed. In the online world, we are not purchasing specific
issues; we are purchasing access to a larger set of issues for a defined
period of time.

Our Ebsco customer service representative worked feverishly to get our
Musical Quarterly subscription straightened out last year. When we converted
our order to online only beginning with the 2008 renewal, the publisher
rejected payment because they hadn't finished publishing v.89
(2006). Naturally, they then terminated our online access for lack of
payment. At first, we were only denied access to the "current issue," but
then all access was turned off. After numerous phone calls, Ebsco was able
to convince Oxford that they needed to accept payment and restore our
access.

Musical Quarterly illustrates a larger problem with delayed publications in
the electronic age, and publishers haven't made the necessary shift in
managing subscriptions yet. Our loss of access to some titles that were
published by Haworth and now belong to Taylor and Francis was also directly
related to their being delayed publications. If nothing else, these problems
are giving libraries and their subscription agents plenty to do.
--
Rose Marie Parsons
Albertsons Library
Boise State University
P.O. Box 46
Boise, Idaho 83707-0046
Telephone: 208-426-4224
Fax: 208-334-2126

On Tue, Apr 7, 2009 at 8:57 AM, Marguerite Buck <mbuck@immaculata.edu>wrote:

> Has anyone else had difficulty getting a Musical Quarterly subscription. We
> missed the last 3 years due to subscription agent error. Our invoice stated
> "will order when current". They even returned a payment. I realize now that
> I should have been more vigilant and checked myself.
>
>
> Marguerite Buck
> Serials/Reference Librarian
> Gabriele Library
> Immaculata University
> Immaculata, PA 19345
> mbuck@immaculata.edu<mailto:mbuck@immaculata.edu>
> (610)647-4400, ext. 3833
>