Re: Contract English Assistance Needed

[Ann Okerson <aokerson@pantheon.yale.edu>]

Forwarded frm Paul Wrynn:

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Date: Mon, 19 Oct 1998 13:41:10 -0400
To: liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu
From: wrynnp01@library.med.nyu.edu (Paul Wrynn)
Subject: Re: Contract English assistance needed

My understanding is that Elsevier is only concerned about a library
maintaining their dollar total for Elsevier print subscriptions,
Cancelling a $500. title, for example, is OK if you pick up new
subscriptions to 2 $250. titles, etc.

The benefit to a library is if you are entering into the license with
other libraries, this would allow for some adjustments to help the
libraries expand their total title list on Science Direct.

Paul Wrynn
Collection Development Librarian
Ehrman Medical Library
550 First Avenue
New York, NY  10016

_____________________

>We are looking at a contract from Elsevier for ScienceDirect, for which
>we are highly interested in completing a contract, but I find one clause
>that totally baffles me.    I see an attempt at double speak that gives
>me alarm.
>
>Can I ask you to read over the following sentence, and give us your
>interpretations?   Is this a clause that I should be concerned about, or
>has there just been a major English mistake here?  [When it comes to
>contracts that have been handled by lawyers, I'm hard pressed to believe
>in simple mistakes.]
>
>"Subscriber may elect to substitute Elsevier print publications, provided,
>however, that it may request such substitutions or exchanges only one time
>each year.  The total value of the print publications received at full
>list catalogue prices may not be less than the value of the paid print
>subscriptions."
>
>Your considerations will be highly appreciated.
>
>Regards,
>Joanna Tousley-Escalante
>
>*       Head Technical Services Unit
>*       Vienna International Centre Library
>*       IAEA
>*       Wagramer Str. 5, P.O. Box 100
>*       A-1400 Vienna, Austria
>*       tel:  *43-1/2600-22624
>*       fax: *43-1/2600-29584
>*       j.tousley@iaea.org
>NOTE:   NEW TELEPHONE SINCE 4 OCTOBER, 1998