Re: National Online: Nature and Others... (like SCIENCE)

[David Goodman <dgoodman@Princeton.EDU>]

I think it ethical for a journal publisher to charge an individual for
such convenience features as a personal print copy, but not for provision
of content that is not available to the library, or that is available
before the library's.

The university library exists to provide sources of information for the
members of that institution to access. There is such a wide range of
possible information sources that it is impossible for each student and
teacher to acquire them all independently; rather, they acquire it
cooperatively through the library. The number of sources is so great that
it cannot be practically acquired and accessed unless the university
library, acting as an agent for its clients, acquires it and makes it
available as a centrally provided resource. The library serves as an
economic equalizer--while typically the faculty can afford to purchase
basic journals and books, the students can at best be expected to purchase
their textbooks, and supplementary material beyond that is provided for
them in common by the library.

Rick, suppose Science provided individual subscribers the articles now,
and the library the articles in 6 months. Suppose 12 months. Suppose 5
years. What is the fundamental difference between these and 3 weeks? In
any case the journal publishes information to make it available, and the
authors publish in it to make it available.  This works, and people access
it, because their institutions can afford it. Otherwise, why run a library
at all? Let everyone buy personal subscriptions to what they want, and if
it is too expensive for the students, too bad for them.  We cannot say
that a university library is responsible for providing a minimal service
only and that good service must be paid for extra. Within a research
university, prompt information provision is a basic necessity, not a
luxury.

I urge that libraries assist the authors of the highlighted articles in
Science to realize that the advance exposure to their articles does not
apply to all their readers, but only the small minority with personal
memberships. They are then likely to realize that their best interest lies
is persuading the editor that all their readers see their work as early as
possible.

David Goodman
Biology Librarian and Co-chair, Electronic Journals Task force
Princeton University Library
Princeton, NJ 08544-0001
e-mail: dgoodman@princeton.edu

____

Rick Anderson wrote:

> > Rick, you have it backwards. The library, who pays the most (on the order
> > of several thousand dollars, gets the version without the in-press
> > articles. The individual subscriber, who pays much less, gets the version
> > with the in-press articles.
> 
> No.  The library pays a larger invoice than an individual does, but the
> library is not an individual subscriber -- at UNR, it represents about
> 13,000 users, none of whom has paid anything approaching the cost of an
> individual subscription.  In the case of Science: if a student at UNR opts
> to spend $77 and subscribe on her own, she gets her own weekly print copy
> and online access to pre-publication content (she pays more, and she gets
> more).  If she opts to spend nothing, and settle for access through the
> library, she has to share a print copy with her compadres and settle for
> less-current online access (she pays less, and she gets less).  There is
> nothing scandalous about this; in fact, I think I'll go out on a limb and
> say that the library and its community get a pretty good deal here --
> given that each community member's access costs us about 27 cents.  The
> fact that an individual can opt to pay a premium and get a premium service
> doesn't make our deal any less acceptable.
> 
> -------------
> Rick Anderson
> Electronic Resources/Serials Coordinator
> The University Libraries
> University of Nevada, Reno
> rickand@unr.edu


(the text above is an expanded and modified version of my presentation,
which is now available in full, but with various changes and updates, on
www.princeton.edu/~biolib/dg/Natureand.html)