Date: Sat, 06 Nov 1999 06:14:47 -0500
From: Albert Henderson <NobleStation@COMPUSERVE.COM>
Subject: Re: Biology price increases

on 04 Nov 1999 Paul S. Piper <piper@CC.WWU.EDU> wrote:

>
>I am looking for information that will prove or disprove the claim that
>Biological publications have increased dramatically in the past 5-10
>years with regards to other sciences.  I am aware of the pricing trends,
>but am looking for publishing or title trends.  Anyone with information
>that might be useful can reach me at piper@cc.wwu.edu
>Thank you very much!
>

Two good sources are:

1. AMERICAN LIBRARIES MAY 1999 P. 84+ U.S. Periodical Prices

2. LIBRARY JOURNAL APRIL 15 1999 p. periodical price survey

According to the latter, biology increased 18.42% 12.77% and 9.68%
over the last 3 years. That's somewhere in the middle for science
periodicals which, unlike general periodicals are likely to increase
numbers of pages. This would appear to inflate the.price while
actually increasing the content -- a basic long-standing criticism
of the periodical price index standard.

Not all journals are comparable. Price indexes fail to deal with
additional services supplied and additional purchases needed,
such as indexes, to use the larger journals, or the bundling of
several journals in a single price.

In short, I would not give sweeping statements much credibility.

Albert Henderson,
Editor, PUBLISHING RESEARCH QUARTERLY
<70244.1532@compuserve.com>
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