Re: New pricing policy from BSA for American Journal of Botany Online

[David Goodman <dgoodman@phoenix.Princeton.EDU>]

I think, Scott, you will find that adding online access for $50 for the
print subscribers will cost you more than that in administering the
system.

It will also cost libraries and subscription agencies to handle this add
on. I think our actual costs in activating the "complementary" add-on this
year and checking that the transition goes smoothly this year and next
year will be more than $50. You are complicating your life, and ours, for
a trivial sum of money.

This has been characteristic of many of the smaller professional
societies: they understand their profession. They do not understand
electronic publishing.

Have you considered using BioOne instead?

David Goodman
Research Librarian and
Biological Sciences Bibliographer
Princeton University Library
dgoodman@princeton.edu            609-258-7785

On Thu, 23 May 2002, Scott D. Russell wrote:

> As you may be aware, the Botanical Society of America asked for input from
> librarians through this listserv earlier this year for the purposes of
> reconsidering our subscription rates for the online version of the
> American Journal of Botany. I received quite a few volunteers for brief
> interviews and we have met to reconsider this situation at the Spring
> Executive Committee.
>
> As a result of these deliberations, BSA has decided to offer the online
> version of the American Journal of Botany at a rate of $300 per year
> (which is approximately the same as the print version [which is $295 for
> domestic subscribers, $305 for Canada and Mexico, and $325 for other
> international destinations]). Our extended "free trial period" provided an
> impression that the print AJB was included in the online version.
> Unfortunately, there are significant costs associated with the publication
> and administration of this site for which we need supporting funds. We
> decided therefore that print subscribers should receive the online version
> for a nominal rate of $50. Although we still believe that the American
> Journal of Botany represents an unusual bargain among contemporary plant
> biology journals, we feel that we have an academic responsibility to be
> sure that there are no barriers to being able to afford AJB. We will be
> initiating access control in mid-June. Thereafter, we will offer the AJB
> Online only to institutional subscribers and BSA members.

[SNIP]

> Scott D. Russell, Ph.D. (Botany)
> Electronic Publisher, American Journal of Botany Online
> President-Elect, Botanical Society of America