Project MUSE News: 2008 Prices, Titles and Collection Changes Announced

[Melanie Schaffner <melanie@muse.jhu.edu>]

Of potential interest to Liblicense readers; please excuse
cross-posting.

Project MUSE Announces New Journals, New Publishers and 2008=20
Subscription Prices

Project MUSE is pleased to announce that five new publishers and=20
thirty new journals are confirmed to date for inclusion in its=20
collections of humanities and social sciences journals for the=20
2008 subscription year. Also new for 2008, one collection has=20
been renamed to better reflect the audience for which it is=20
intended, and two collections have been revised to better meet=20
the needs of the marketplace. Project MUSE 2008 pricing also has=20
been confirmed for all collections.

MUSE is always pleased to welcome new publishers and among those=20
confirmed to date for 2008 are The Feminist Press, Scriptorium=20
Press, Friends Historical Association, IEEE Computer Society, and=20
The University of North Texas.

New titles Added to Collections

Currently, thirty titles have been confirmed for inclusion in=20
MUSE in 2008. A complete list of these journals is available at=20
http://muse.jhu.edu/about/subscriptions/new_titles_2008.html.=20
Additional titles are in negotiation and will be announced later=20
in the summer. In total, MUSE expects to add between 30 and 35=20
journals for the upcoming subscription year. All new titles=20
confirmed to date and those announced afterwards will be included=20
in the Premium Collection. The Premium Collection is MUSE's=20
foremost collection of high quality interdisciplinary journals=20
offering comprehensive online content in the humanities and=20
social sciences.

Selected titles, either new or currently offered, will also be=20
added to three of MUSE=92s existing collections: Standard=20
Collection, Basic Research Collection, and Basic Undergraduate=20
Collection. For 2008, MUSE is pleased to announce the following=20
changes to each of the collections:

The Standard Collection, a subset of the Premium Collection,=20
offers institutions a relatively stable collection of=20
interdisciplinary journals. In 2008, the following journals are=20
confirmed for addition to the Standard Collection: Classical=20
World, ESQ: A Journal of the American Renaissance. Monatshefte,=20
Renaissance Quarterly, and Women=92s Studies Quarterly. A small=20
number of additional titles will be announced by August.

The Basic Research Collection is a more limited subset of the=20
Premium Collection than the Standard Collection. Titles chosen=20
for this collection are based on a number of selective criteria=20
developed by MUSE's staff librarians. Current MUSE titles are=20
reevaluated each year using these guidelines and journals meeting=20
the criteria may move into the Basic Research Collection. In=20
2008, MUSE will enhance the Basic Research Collection with ten=20
current titles: Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the=20
Middle East; Global Environmental Politics; History & Memory;=20
Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies; Native Plants Journal;=20
Parergon; Perspectives on Science; Philosophy of Music Education=20
Review; Rhetoric & Public Affairs, and Studies in American Indian=20
Literatures.

The Basic Undergraduate Collection is the smallest=20
interdisciplinary subset of the Premium Collection and is=20
designed for four and two year colleges and markets outside the=20
U.S. Effective with the 2008 subscription year, the collection=20
will have a new name, Basic College Collection, which more aptly=20
describes the audience and market for which it is intended. The=20
focus of this collection is not changing. However, as with the=20
Basic Research Collection, current MUSE titles may be added to=20
the Basic College Collection when the titles meet certain=20
selective criteria. In 2008, three current titles will move into=20
the Basic College Collection: Criticism; Kennedy Institute of=20
Ethics Journal and Modern Drama.

The Project MUSE Arts and Humanities Collection and Social=20
Sciences Collection have been reconfigured to sharpen the focus=20
of the collections and better align them with the research needs=20
of subscribing institutions. Complete details on the revised=20
Humanities Collection and Social Sciences Collection will be=20
available on the MUSE web site later this summer.

Titles Transitioning to Archive-Only

Occasionally, active MUSE journal titles will cease contributing=20
new issues to the MUSE collections as a result of a variety of=20
factors. For 2008, the following titles will enter archive-only=20
status and no longer contribute current content to MUSE: Early=20
Music, Essays in Criticism, Journal of the American Academy of=20
Religion, Latin American Politics and Society, Pacific Science,=20
Parliamentary History, Past & Present, Southwestern Historical=20
Quarterly, and Steinbeck Studies. All back issue content will=20
remain online and accessible to subscribers.

List Prices for 2008

MUSE continues to offer North American academic libraries a=20
tiered, affordable pricing model for its six collections,=20
allowing libraries of all sizes the opportunity to access the=20
collection that best meets each institution's mission and budget.=20
The tiered model provides discounts off the list price based on=20
Carnegie classification and relative usage.=A0=A0The list price for=20
the 2008 Premium Collection is $30,800 for the nearly 375 titles=20
included.=A0The 2008 list price for the Standard Collection is=20
$22,700. The Basic Research Collection is $19,100 for 2008 and=20
the Basic College Collection is $11,000. The pricing reflects the=20
growth in each of these collections, with over 30 new journals=20
added to the Premium Collection and a limited number of titles=20
moving into the other collections as described earlier. The=20
reconfigured Humanities Collection has a list price of $12,100,=20
and the revised Social Sciences Collection lists at $8,500.=20
Complete 2008 North American academic pricing information for all=20
MUSE collections is now available online at=20
http://muse.jhu.edu/about/subscriptions/pricing_academic_2008.html.=20
Non-academic libraries and those outside North America should=20
contact muse@muse.jhu.edu for 2008 pricing details. MUSE=20
collections offer superior value with complete full-text, no=20
embargoes, high quality peer-reviewed titles, archival rights to=20
all subscribed material, library-friendly usage policies, and=20
access to selected back files at no additional charge.

MUSE was founded on the premise of offering quality scholarship=20
via a sustainable model that meets the needs of both libraries=20
and publishers.=A0MUSE is committing to a cap on price increases=20
for the next three years while at the same time introducing a new=20
program of promoting titles that fall within its core subject=20
areas.=A0Determined by its highly selective criteria, MUSE will=20
accept titles that are important in their fields yet may just be=20
getting started or not widely known. The titles contain content=20
that is timely and worthy of greater exposure and significantly,=20
are offered to libraries through a model that is price neutral=20
and does not increase the cost of a collection. Titles selected=20
in this program will be added only to the Premium Collection.=20
MUSE is committing to limit price increases on the Standard=20
Collection, Basic Research Collection, and Basic College=20
Collection to no more than 7% annually through the 2010=20
subscription term, and to cap increases on the price of the=20
Premium Collection to no more than 12% for the same period.

A summary of the information contained in this announcement is=20
available online at=20
http://muse.jhu.edu/about/subscriptions/new_titles_2008.html.=20
Additional details about Project MUSE=92s 2008 collections and=20
subscription options will be available on the MUSE website by=20
August. Specifics about renewal pricing and subscription options=20
will be sent to MUSE's consortium partners later this summer.=20
Institutions that subscribe via a consortium arrangement should=20
inquire about their renewal options with their consortium=20
offices.

For more information, please contact muse@muse.jhu.edu, or phone
410-516-6989.
---2071850956-1923143169-1183174193=:31504--