IAA Will Continue to Push for Revised Analysis of Publishers Mergers

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

Of possible interest.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 10 Sep 2003 09:54:37 -0400
From: Judith Matz <judith@arl.org>
To: Activities and Programs of ARL <ARL-ANNOUNCE@arl.org>
Subject: [ARL-ANNOUNCE] IAA Will Continue to Push for Revised Analysis of
    Publishers Mergers 

For Immediate Release: September 5, 2003

For more information, contact:
Dawn Boeckermann, Metropolitan Group
(503) 223-3299 or dboeckermann@metgroup.com

INFORMATION ACCESS ALLIANCE WILL CONTINUE TO PUSH FOR REVISED ANALYSIS OF
PUBLISHER MERGERS DESPITE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT'S RECENT APPROVAL OF CINVEN
AND CANDOVER PURCHASE OF BERTELSMANNSPRINGER

Washington, D.C. The Information Access Alliance (IAA), a group of seven
library organizations, will continue to push for revised analysis of
publisher mergers despite the recent announcement that the Department of
Justice has approved the sale of BertelsmannSpringer to Cinven and
Candover. The Alliance is concerned that mergers of this sort will bring
about a reduction in access to critical research information due to the
heightened journal costs that result.

British private equity firms Cinven and Candover announced on Tuesday,
August 26, that the U.S. Department of Justice has approved their
acquisition of BertelsmannSpringer and its merger with Kluwer Academic
Publishers (KAP), which they acquired in January 2003. The new entity,
re-named Springer, will have revenues approaching �880 million, making
it the second largest publisher of scientific journals in the world,
trailing only Elsevier Science. The European Commission approved the
sale on July 29. On June 18, Cinven and Candover appointed Derk Haank,
former Chief Executive of Elsevier, as Chief Executive of Springer,
effective February 1, 2004.

"Needless to say," notes Mary Case of the Association of Research
Libraries, a member of the IAA, "we are very disappointed with the
Department of Justice's approval of the merger of BertelsmannSpringer with
Kluwer Academic Publishers.  We foresee only increased prices for
libraries and decreased access to important resources for researchers and
the public as a result of this transaction."

The Information Access Alliance, a coalition of seven leading library
organizations in North America, urged the Department of Justice to block
the acquisition and subsequent merger of KAP and BertelsmannSpringer
because of its concerns that the transaction will result in reduced access
to critical research information. Libraries are the primary market for STM
journals. Over the last two decades, the prices libraries pay for journals
have risen at three times the rate of inflation. Analysis by the Alliance
suggests that mergers have played a significant role in this inflation.

The Alliance will continue to support further research and analysis of
past mergers and their effects on consumers and small publishers. In July,
the Alliance announced the publication of a white paper that examines the
impact of mergers among scholarly and legal publishers and calls for a new
standard of antitrust review of merger transactions in this industry by
antitrust enforcement agencies. The white paper and other material on the
Alliance's efforts can be found at www.informationaccess.org.

Information Access Alliance member organizations

The American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) is a nonprofit
educational organization dedicated to providing leadership and advocacy in
the field of legal information and information policy. Our more than 5,000
members respond to the legal information needs of legislators, judges and
other public officials, corporations and small businesses, law professors
and students, attorneys, and members of the general public.
<www.aallnet.org>

The American Library Association (ALA), the oldest and largest library
association in the world, is a nonprofit organization of over 64,000
librarians, library trustees, and other friends of libraries dedicated to
the development, promotion, and improvement of library and information
services to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all.
<www.ala.org>

The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), a division of
the American Library Association, is a professional association of
academic librarians and other interested individuals. ACRL currently has a
membership of approximately 12,400, accounting for nearly 20% of the total
ALA membership. ACRL provides a broad range of professional services and
programs for a diverse membership. <www.ala.org/acrl>

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of
124 research libraries in North America. ARL programs and services promote
equitable access to and effective use of recorded knowledge in support of
teaching, research, scholarship, and community service. <www.arl.org>

The Medical Library Association (MLA) is a nonprofit, educational
organization of more than 900 institutions and 3,800 individual members in
the health sciences information field, committed to educating health
information professionals, supporting health information research,
promoting access to the world�s health sciences information, and working
to ensure that the best health information is available to all.
<www.mlanet.org>

SPARC (Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition) is an
initiative of universities, research libraries, and library organizations
that supports increased competition in scholarly publishing. SPARC
publishing partnerships and educational activities encourage expanded
dissemination of research and reduced financial pressure on libraries. Its
worldwide membership currently includes 277 institutions and
organizations, with 188 members in the United States. <www.arl.org/sparc>

The Special Libraries Association (SLA) is the international association
representing the interests of thousands of information professionals in
over seventy countries. Special librarians are information resource
experts who collect, analyze, evaluate, package, and disseminate
information to facilitate accurate decision-making in corporate, academic,
and government settings. The Association offers a variety of programs and
services designed to help its members serve their customers more
effectively and succeed in an increasingly challenging environment of
information management and technology. SLA is committed to the
professional growth and success of its membership. <www.sla.org>

********************************
Judith Matz
Communications Officer
Association of Research Libraries
21 Dupont Circle, NW  #800
Washington, DC  20036-1118
Phone  202-296-2296
Fax  202-872-0884
judith@arl.org