I am intrigued by David's last statement - please elucidate! Sally
Sally Morris, Secretary-General Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers South House, The Street, Clapham, Worthing, West Sussex BN13 3UU, UK Phone: 01903 871686 Fax: 01903 871457 E-mail: [email protected] ALPSP Website http://www.alpsp.org Learned Publishing is now online, free of charge, at www.learned-publishing.org ----- Original Message ----- From: "David Goodman" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, April 21, 2002 10:58 PM Subject: Re: ALPSP statement on BOAI > What will prove or disprove the case is not your study, or anyone's, > but the market. If people value the features, they will pay for them. > And it is really that simple, assuming there are no artificial constraints, > such as excessively rigid tenure requirements and other > administrative interference. > > The possible responses to competition from less expensive > suppliers are to increase value, lower costs and prices, accept a much > smaller part of the market, or make use of anti-competitive measures. > In this case, the alternative suppliers are > intrinsically so much less expensive, that it seems doubtful whether you > can increase value or lower costs enough to compete, however much I wish > you could. But my opinion, or other peoples' opinions, regardless of how > carefully collected, decide nothing. What they do is decisive. > > If my patrons want expensive publications, rather than less expensive > provision of the same material, they will continue to use the many we > have. I will determine the use by my routine measurements, and those who > supply the funds will, as in the past, allocate the money to buy them. If the > patrons cease to want them, they will stop using them. I will similarly > determine the lack of use, and, being responsible within my sphere for not > wasting my institution's funds, I will not request the money to buy them. > > We all know that ongoing measurements > already show an almost total nonuse of conventional publications, print or > electronic, in one of the science subject areas. > > Dr. David Goodman > Research Librarian and > Biological Sciences Bibliographer > Princeton University Library > [email protected] 609-258-7785
