FIRM PRICES: A POSSIBLE DREAM?

    ALA/ACRL Journal Prices in Academic Libraries Discussion Group
                      Saturday, January 23, 1993
                           2:00 - 4:00 p.m.
                   Colorado Convention Center, A201
                           Denver, Colorado

"Tell us what it's going to cost before we buy it!"

For the past year one of the hottest issues among librarians working
with journals has been "firm prices." Fed up with the budgeting havoc
created by added renewal charges and last-minute double-digit percent-
age increases, activist librarians claim the right to know how much a
journal costs before they authorize renewal. Does this decision throw
a monkey wrench into the cash flow projections of journal publishers
and subscription agents? If so, how can we work together to meet the
needs of each party? That is what we are going to find out.

     Two librarians ...

          Anne E. McKee, Bibliographic Services Librarian, Arizona
               State University - West
          Beth J. Shapiro, University Librarian, Rice University

     Two publishers ...

          Jerry Curtis, Springer-Verlag New York
          Keith Courtney, Taylor & Francis, Ltd.

     One subscription agent ...

          Ron Akie, Deputy Director, Publisher Service Center, Faxon

 ... will lead the discussion. Come and share your views on the timing
and communicating of firm prices for scholarly journals.