No librarian in their right mind would admit such a thing to you because of the overhanging threat of a lawsuit. As the judge said, no one would use this as a single decision- making tool, but cost per some unit of issue/article/word can be very helpful in making decisions about subscription (print or electronic) vs document delivery. Mr. Henderson has been having this discussion on various lists for over 2 years now. In addition to Ken Rouse, David Flaxbart has written a really good rebuttal in Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship: http://www.library.ucsb.edu/istl/98-fall/article3.html
So please can we move on here. Kitty Porter > The idea of kilowords per dollar has become a dark joke. > I have been unable to get any librarian to admit > to using kilowords per dollar as an acquisitions tool. > > > Albert Henderson > Editor, PUBLISHING RESEARCH QUARTERLY 1994-2000 > <[email protected]> > > . > . > . > . 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]
