Re: Libraries Urge Justice Departmen to Block Cinven and Candover

["Barbara Schader" <bschader@library.ucla.edu>]

I can't speak to whether or not the G&B titles became more expensive when
Taylor & Francis purchased them (tho' I doubt they did) but I can say that
the G&B titles were already outrageously overpriced and most of the time
G&B was a year or two or more behind in their publishing schedule so
libraries had faithfully paid for things they were not getting for a year
or so - but would consistently be billed year after year as tho' the
publishing schedule was on time.  G&B also used the business model of
suddenly labelling issues as volumes to compensate for their publishing
arrears.

Many of us had dropped all G&B subscriptions due to their publishing
practices and so we were thrilled when G&B journals were purchased by T&F.
I think this is an exceptional situation and does not fit into the current
discussion. Or perhaps it is the exception that proves the rule?

Barbara Schader
UCLA Biomedical Library

----- Original Message -----
From: "Anthony Watkinson" <anthony.watkinson@btopenworld.com>
To: <liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu>
Sent: Saturday, June 14, 2003 7:01 PM
Subject: Re: Libraries Urge Justice Departmen to Block Cinven and Candover

> Having made the statement earlier that McCabe's thesis falls down if he
> assumes an inexorable link between purchase and price rises, it is clearly
> not enough to explain that this is not my own experience and I hope to be
> able to produce evidence (in time!) to back up my assertion. This would be
> evidence to back up my own memory of what was done by Chapman & Hall -
> nothing more general.
>
> However an example of a purchase that did not result in price rises has
> been pointed out to me: it is the purchase of Gordon & Breach by Taylor &
> Francis. I have not checked this and indeed (as an independent researcher)
> it is very difficult for me to do so, but perhaps someone on this list
> could see if I am correct in assuming that Gordon & Breach prices were not
> put up dramatically by their new owners.