Blackwell Publishing Journals Update

[Liblicense-L Listowner <liblicen@pantheon.yale.edu>]

Date: Wed, 6 Oct 2004 14:14:00 +0100
From: Journal News 
  <journal.news.3rWaKN@blackwell_publishing.cminteractive.com>
Subject: Blackwell Publishing Journals Update

Dear Ann Okerson,
 
As a subscriber to Blackwell Publishing journals, I wanted to take the
opportunity to write to you directly to give you an update on some recent
developments here at Blackwell, and a forward look to 2005.
 
Working for the Scholarly Community

Blackwell publish the leading international peer-reviewed journals in a
wide range of academic research areas and professional specialisms.  We
are the largest publisher on behalf of scholarly and professional
societies and currently work with over 550 non-for-profit membership
associations.

The societies ensure that our titles are extremely good value for money
with high citations and low subscription prices.  Our primary aims are to
facilitate the dissemination of research through the generous licensing of
access to library customers whilst continuing to provide a return to the
societies for whom we publish.
  
We can confirm that 35 journals have so far chosen to join Blackwell
Publishing and move away from self-publishing or other commercial
arrangements for 2005 and the latter part of this year.  This brings the
total number of journals we publish to 724, of which 713 are available to
license online as part of the Collection.  We are still negotiating with a
number of additional societies and we expect this figure to increase
before the year end.
 
Providing Value to Libraries

1800 libraries worldwide now provide access to the Collection of Blackwell
Publishing journals within their institutions.  Their library patrons
benefit from licensing terms which allow for many uses of the purchased
content, including walk-in users, course-pack use, IP and remote off-site
access, backfile access, access to articles published online before print,
and access to paid-for content in perpetuity.

For libraries in the developing world, we provide free or low-cost access
to online journals through partnerships with the WHO Hinari, FAO Agora,
INASP and other initiatives.
 
Increasing Content

We are committed to ensuring that our journals develop into positions of
intellectual pre-eminence within their subject areas and play a role in
extending their fields of research.  We work proactively with the
societies and journal editors to develop individual titles and seek to add
value through the addition of extra pages, increased frequency, new
sections, or through the tying together of related titles.
  
In 2005, 150 journals will increase the number of pages they publish and
in total we will publish 8% more pages of content in the journals in our
Collection.  The average price per page at the standard rate in 2005 is
just 46p / 79c.
 
Low Average Prices

Prices for the majority of Blackwell Publishing journals are set every
year in close association with the societies for whom we publish and take
into account any additional content which is due to be added to the
following volume.  The average standard rate price for a science and
medicine journal from Blackwell is �502 / US$875 and a social science and
humanities journal is on average �267 / US$438.  This is 40% less than the
average cost of a journal from the larger commercial journal publishers.

For Collection customers, the electronic �top up� fee which gives access
to 713 journals in the Collection represents �14 / US$21 per journal for a
medium-sized institution, and just 3p / 4c per article available online as
part of the Collection.
 
Growing Impact

According to the 2003 ISI Citation Index, 157 of our titles are ranked in
the top 10 in their subject categories and 39 titles are in the top 3
journals.  The average impact factor of Blackwell journals has increased
by 12% between 2002 and 2003.
 
Expanding Readership

Through licensing, online innovation and the adoption of open standards we
have been able to greatly increase the readership of the journals we
publish.  Our aim is to reduce the cost per use of online journals and
maximise the value for the customer.  Between June 2003 and June 2004, the
average article downloads for a journal on Blackwell Synergy increased by
275%, from 2000 to 5500.
 
Online Development

In order to increase the accessibility and impact of the journals we
publish and to increase their value to readers, libraries, and societies,
we continue to invest in our online publishing platform, Blackwell
Synergy.  We abide by a wide range of industry protocols, including
CrossRef, COUNTER, OpenURL, Marc21, and Athens.

US$ Exchange Rates

To conform with library budgets we set the foreign exchange rates for our
pricing for the following year at the end of each June.  From June 2003 to
June 2004 the US dollar declined by 10.3% from $1.66 to $1.83 against
pound sterling.  In recognition of the financial constraints that this has
imposed on libraries we have decided to mitigate the effect of the
dollar's depreciation and will not pass on the impact of the true exchange
rate to our US$ customers.

If you have any queries about any of the developments outlined above then
please do contact your Journals Licensing Representative directly, or
email journal.news@blackwellpublishing.com.

We look forward to working with you to continue to provide access to
Blackwell Publishing�s online journals within your institution over the
coming year.
 
Best wishes,
Emily Gillingham
Library Marketing and Communications Manager
Blackwell Publishing
www.blackwellpublishing.com/librarians
journal.news@blackwellpublishing.com