Re: Nature Journals: User Name and Password (Super ID Access)

[David Goodman <dgoodman@Princeton.EDU>]

It is up to the journal publishers themselves to post their data. I urge
them to do so.

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Norman Frankel wrote:
> 
> I would also be interested in actual data.
> 
> >>> "Michael Spinella" <mspinell@aaas.org> 09/25 4:43 PM >>>
> David,
> 
> Do you have actual data about this topic? Even if you do, how useful is
> it? One of the fears publishers have is about reaching a 'tipping point'
> of acceptance of online-only publishing that would launch a rapid and
> probably irreversible decline in print. That would be OK if online
> revenues were ramped up fast enough to cover the publishing costs, but the
> thing about tipping points is you can't really control their speed, and
> unfortunately, we've probably all read enough now about failing dot-coms
> to realize that online publishing may not be a magic bullet. Maybe Nature
> is overly cautious, but it's not crazy for publishers to worry about the
> downside scenarios.
> 
> Thanks for the reassurances, but I'm afraid it will be cold comfort to
> many publishers, especially that hair-raising comment about attrition
> rates of no more than "about twice normal"! Yikes! Do you have any idea
> what that would mean to many publishers?
> 
> Mike Spinella
> 
> _______________
> 
> >>> dgoodman@phoenix.Princeton.EDU 09/24/00 10:09PM >>>
> I can reassure the publishers of Nature that other journals that have
> permitted access without the sort of restriction they propose have not
> lost large numbers of subscribers. I believe the rate I've been told is
> that the attrition rate increases slightly, to about twice normal at most.
> 
> I can also reassure them, on the basis of talks with personal subscribers,
> that people take out personal subscriptions because they want personal
> copies to read. Not because they want electronic access--they expect the
> library to arrange that. It's ironic that Nature, which is the one
> publication that most scientists actually do read (in the conventional
> sense), should be worried.
> 
> David Goodman, Princeton University Biology Library
> dgoodman@princeton.edu            609-258-3235
> ____