Article based subscriptions

["Paul M. Gherman" <Gherman@library.vanderbilt.edu>]

I think we need a new mind set as we approach electronic 
publishing. The discussion we have been having is very much 
based in the old subscription model of buying information. 
Try to think not in terms of subscriptions but think of a 
product like Science Direct as a full text database of 
science literature.

One subscribes to a database not individual parts of it.
We are not give a choice to only subscribe to parts of
Academic Universe, why should we only subscribe to parts
of Science Direct. We learned from you participation in
PEAK that our users were not just interested in those
titles we subscribe to in paper. They used many other
titles in the SD database.

I agree that once subscription price might be related to
ones current paper subscriptions. I see subscribing to the
Science Direct database as offering our patrons much wider
access to exactly the information they need and want, and
not only the subset of titles we choose for them, and it is
there for them 24/7 and anywhere they can access a
computer.

Plus we do not need to check in anything, buy shelves,
reshelve, replace pages, or bind journals. Another savings
what can be converted to purchase of more information. My
mantra is we must convert infrastructure into information.
The real savings - found money is the elimination of cost
associated with the delivery of information to pure
information. 

Paul M. Gherman
University Librarian
611B General Library
419 21st Avenue South
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN 37240
Office: (615) 322-7120
Fax: (615) 343-8279
gherman@library.vanderbilt.edu