I'm not sure this is a fair example since Encyclopedia Britannica isn't a journal, but I think many libraries stopped paid online subscriptions when the free online version came along. Certainly has lost the look of a scholarly resource, but the information is there and the cost is right.
Kitty Porter > >Libraries are apparently reluctant to drop journals to which they > have long > >subscribed. Therefore scientific societies can give away IFWA and > not risk > >sharp declines in library subscriptions. > > It strikes me as being slightly irrational for a library to pay for > what it could get for free. Do you think a library might do this because > being online increases reader demand for the print journal? Are people > finding out about articles they might want to read online and then going to > read the print version? If this is the case might it be attributed to > reading habits (a preference for print) that might wane as people habituate > themselves to reading online (even more so than they have today?) > > Florida Entomologist also seems like a fairly inexpensive journal > (library subscriptions are reported to be $50). If the price of a library > subscription were higher, let's say $500 or $1000, might libraries be less > willing to continue subscribing if they could access the journal at no cost > online? I guess I'm wondering if the effect here might be different > depending on the price of the journal. Kitty Porter Stevenson Science & Engineering Library 419 21st Avenue South Vanderbilt University Nashville TN 37240 Phone: 615-343-7106 Fax: 615-343-7249 Email: [email protected]
