Re: Chronicle article: Subscription Service's Difficulties Could Be Costly for Libraries and Publishers

["James A. Robinson" <jim.robinson@stanford.edu>]

How likely is it that the money which has left library hands and into
RoweCom will be kept in limbo?  I don't know anything about the world of
subscription intermediares. Have cases like this occured before? Do
license agreements have clauses (from one side or the other) discussing
exactly what happens when a 3rd party drops the ball?

In the Money Market Fund world, when funds have floundered, other funds
stepped in to buy off the shares, sometimes at massive losses, in order to
keep their own shares from plummeting. They had a clear incentive to calm
irrational fears which might cause their own customers to pull out of
still-solid funds.  I'd assume nothing like that incentive exists in the
subscription world, but I'd hope for a clear sign that a company
purchasing RoweCom divisions would carry out RoweCom's existing
agreements.

Am I correct in surmising that it is not uncommon for the subscription
service industry to operate in such a way that money may routinely move
from point A (the publisher's account) to point B (the subscription
service), and not quickly move to point C (the service the librarian is
paying for)?  I guess my naive model would have been one where the
subscription service basically moves funds recieved (minus it's cut)
directly into the accounts of the service provider the library is trying
to pay.

The comment about Open Access being a guarantee interested me as well.
What occurs in a scenerio where BioMed Centeral or similar Open Access
groups close down?  Do all articles get moved to another online source, en
masse?  Is PubMed Central the one and only such backup?  Are there other
sources of online support standing ready to handle an influx of material?


Jim