Re: Recent Comments by Albert Henderson

From: David Goodman <dgoodman_at_PRINCETON.EDU>
Date: Fri, 26 Jan 2001 19:15:37 -0400

I have some data for my library:

Serial titles at the Princeton Biology Library:

               titles cost*

current in 2001 571 $438,000

canceled>1988 435 382,000

never owned** 346 187,000

* at 2001 prices
** and actually requested 2X or more per year.


note: Neurobiology is not included: at Princeton it's in the Psychology
library mostly.
Cancellation of duplicates also not included.


Conclusions:
1/ We have continued the titles most needed, canceled appropriate titles, and
avoided getting the least needed. Rational journal selection is possible.

2/ The cost of buying the same titles as subscriptions
would be $382,000+$187,000-$30,000, which
is $539,000, which would add 123% to our journal budget.

General note: This assumes everything is electronic, and ignores
storage, binding, and processing costs or savings.

Could we afford the $539,000 without a major budget increase? No. We have only
about $90,000 for books and databases after we buy our journals.
Is a budget increase of the necessary amount likely here or anywhere? Judge
for yourself.
If we all had twice the money would publishers charge twice the current prices?
 Again, judge for yourself.

SUMMARY ANSWER FOR KEN:
About twice the present cost if we did it by subscribing.

QUESTION FOR KEN:
I believe U. Wisc. has much more extensive cost and use data than anyone else.
What are your own conclusions?

Ken Rouse wrote:
>
> I believe we might be in a better position to assess the validity of
> Hendersons's argument if we had a more concrete sense of its fiscal
> implications. Let's assume for the moment that he had gotten his wish,
> and libraries had been given enough money to continue purchasing all of
> the journals deemed appropriate for their collections-or at least
> funding indexed to the increases in expenditures for academic research
> in the last few decades. What might a typical, ARL-size science
> library's budget look like today? If he could give us a ballpark idea,
> it could serve as a reality-check of his
> give-the-librarians-all-the-money-they-need-solution to our problem.
> ...
>

>
> Kendall Rouse, Head, Chemistry Library
> University of Wisconsin-Madison
> 1101 University Ave.
> Madison WI 53706
>
> Telephone: 608-2622942 FAX: 608-2629002 Email:
> krouse_at_library.wisc.edu

--
David Goodman
Biology Librarian
and Co-chair, Electronic Journals Task force
Princeton University Library
Princeton, NJ 08544-0001
phone: 609-258-3235
fax: 609-258-2627
e-mail: dgoodman_at_princeton.edu
Received on Wed Jan 03 2001 - 19:17:43 GMT

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