Re: Future of the "subscription model?"

[Rick Anderson <rick.anderson@utah.edu>]

>To date, the subscription model seems alive and well and still 
>in the best interest of many publishers, societies and 
>libraries. We are still waiting for evidence that libraries (and 
>their institutions) are willing to substantially reduce and/or 
>forego the subscription-based model.

Here's a little bit of evidence, for what it's worth: my library 
is preparing to cut $300,000 (roughly 10% of the serials budget) 
from its roster of subscriptions in the coming fiscal year, and 
in all likelihood to abandon the Elsevier Big Deal as well. This 
obviously doesn't amount to a wholesale abandonment of the 
subscription model, but that's not because we have any lingering 
affection for the model -- it's because the quick extortion of 
punitive per-article pricing is currently the only alternative to 
the slower, more gentle extortion of subscription price 
increases.

---
Rick Anderson
Assoc. Dean for Scholarly Resources & Collections
J. Willard Marriott Library
University of Utah
rick.anderson@utah.edu