Re: News Release: Project Transfer

["Joseph J. Esposito" <espositoj@gmail.com>]

The proposed Code of Practice appears to be a good idea.  It may 
have some unintended consequences, however, which participants in 
scholarly communications may wish to consider.

The Code is for "Journals Transferring Between Publishers."  You 
may well ask why journals transfer.  There are many reasons, but 
to name just a few: money, access to technology, new managment, 
and marketing.  While there are exceptions, transfers typically 
occur from small publishers to larger ones (which may themselves 
be not-for-profit) and often from not-for-profit publishers to 
commercial organizations.

Members of this list may wish to confirm or challenge my 
hypothesis that journals that transfer are more likely to have 
above-average price increases than journals that do not transfer.

Thus the Code, which facilitates transfer, is likely to result in 
a smooth transfer AND higher prices.  Is the Code a good idea? 
Yes.  Are higher prices a good idea?  It depends on whether you 
are buying or selling.

Joe Esposito

----- Original Message -----
From: "Acreman, Beverley" <Beverley.Acreman@tandf.co.uk>
To: <liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, May 09, 2007 8:50 AM
Subject: News Release: Project Transfer


> UKSG Working Group "Project Transfer" invites Publishers to
> sign-up to an agreed Code of Practice to Improve Procedures for
> Journals Transferring Between Publishers
>
> Oxford, UK - 9th May 2007- Project Transfer is inviting
> publishers to sign up to a Code of Practice which aims to improve
> the procedures and policies surrounding the transfer of journals
> between publishers. The Code has been drafted with extensive help
> from many of the major international publishing houses and has
> already been applauded as an excellent step forward by the
> contributing library community.
>
> The Code outlines a set of guidelines for both the Transferring
> and the Receiving publisher in any journal transfer.
> Comprehensive in its detail, the Code covers the thorny issues of
> ongoing access provision to online content, exchange of
> subscriber lists, DOI and URL transfer as well as the division
> and definition of born-digital versus newly digitized backfile
> content.
>
> The Project Transfer Working Group is inviting publishers to sign
> up to this Code through the Project website:
> <http://www.projecttransfer.org/> where the Code of Practice can
> also be found. Full details of the Code were launched at the UKSG
> Annual Conference in Warwick (16-18 April 2007).
>
> More information is available on the UKSG website: www.uksg.org/transfer
>
> Bev Acreman
> pp UKSG
>