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Subject:   sub. price

I am the Serials Librarian at a private, Catholic college and was recently
approached by a member of the Board of Trustees with what I thought was a
rather strange question concerning journal subscriptions.  They wondered why we
didn't subscribe to all of our journals in my name and have the library
reimburse me.  Besides the excruciating work involved, I couldn't figure out
the purpose behind doing this.  I am assuming that they thought it would be
cheaper to take this route, but it made no sense to me.  So, besides telling
the gentleman that I did not believe this to be an ethical practice, I am
looking for more concrete information to back me up so that I can get back to
him.  Do any other libraries have policies concerning this issue?  Do you
know where I can find legal information on this topic?  Are there any articles
published that address this concern?  Any help you can provide, even anecdotal,
would be much appreciated.

Wendie Edwards, Serials Librarian
Viterbo College Library
La Crosse, WI  54601
email:  lib_wendie@viterbo.edu