RE: Elsevier Journal Pricing for 2006

["Margaret Landesman" <margaret.landesman@library.utah.edu>]

Re. the statement below:  "For the fifth consecutive year, Elsevier's
price increase remains within the lowest quartile of average price
increases across all STM publishers."

Here in Utah we pay our bills in dollars, not in percentages.

We find that a 5.25% increase on an Elsevier title hardly ever results in
anything recognizable as a "low price increase". In fact, Elsevier titles
seem to show up on our lists of titles with the highest dollar increases
reliably, year after year, with monotonous regularity.

Things must be different in other places,

Margaret Landesman
University of Utah  

-----Original Message-----
[mailto:owner-liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu] On Behalf Of Menefee, Daviess
Sent: Friday, July 08, 2005 3:41 PM
To: liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu
Subject: Elsevier Journal Pricing for 2006

The following letter has been mailed to all Elsevier customers.
Daviess Menefee
Library Relations
Elsevier

Dear Sir or Madam,

Each year, I set out to meet with many of our customers around the world.
Throughout these meetings, I am continually impressed by the commitment of
librarians to improve and support the advancement of science, scholarship,
and medicine. In candid discussions, I have heard first hand, about budget
pressures and the need for flexibility in a landscape where technologies
and policies are changing rapidly. In facing these challenges, we
recognize that Elsevier has not always been the perfect business partner,
but we are increasing our efforts to improve.

First and foremost, Elsevier is committed to maintaining the integrity and
quality of our publishing programs. We aspire to be the home for authors
and editors of the highest editorial quality. We continue to develop and
manage electronic products to provide new and integrated solutions for our
customers. We are pursuing opportunities to serve the scientific community
in developing markets, to tailor solutions for smaller academic and
corporate customers and to better serve the global health and medical
community. To achieve all this, however, we must redouble our efforts in
customer relations and customer service.

Our industry has seen rapid change and Elsevier's focus on developing
products for efficient dissemination and access has resulted in an
unprecedented growth in literature usage. But alongside these advances
comes the need and expectation for more responsive back office systems,
clarity in purchasing and invoicing processes, and more detailed
administrative requirements. Elsevier is now focusing on putting customer
service at the heart of everything we do. A new query management system,
an online contacts directory, and point-of-service customer feedback
surveys are just a few of the initiatives now underway to improve your
interactions with Elsevier.

One of our annual interactions now approaching is the 2006 subscription
renewal. The average price increase for Elsevier journals in the coming
year will be 5.5% (including volume increases), averaged across our 1,800
journals. The vast majority of our titles will have an increase of 5.25%.
Some titles may increase more, particularly where they have grown
significantly in size, and for others the increase will be less. In the
last year, the number of articles published in our current journals grew
by over 4%. While the total cost for your institution's print collection
will depend on your particular mix of titles, electronic subscription fee
changes, if any, will depend on the specific terms of your ScienceDirect
contract. Many of you have chosen to convert to electronic-only delivery
of articles, thereby reducing the total amount paid this year.

We understand that libraries face significant budget challenges. For the
fifth consecutive year, Elsevier's price increase remains within the
lowest quartile of average price increases across all STM publishers. In
2005, the average price increase amongst STM publishers in the US was
10.2% and the average price increase in Europe was 7.9%.* Against this
backdrop, Elsevier continues to limit price increases to well below the
industry average, while working hard to meet the growing publishing
demands of the scientific community.

Please contact your account manager if you have any questions. I welcome
your comments and suggestions on how Elsevier can improve and continue to
keep pace with your developing needs.

Kind regards,
Frank Vrancken Peeters
Managing Director of Sales, Elsevier