Nature magazine

[David Goodman]

Princeton still has several library paper subscriptions and a
smaller student body--Nature's quote to us would represent about a 40%
surcharge over the cost of print.  Their quote for the specialty journals
would represent a 25% surcharge. I consider the price high, but we would
pay it if they provided the full content. We have NEVER knowingly paid
money for the electronic version of a journal where the electronic
provides less than the paper, or appears more slowly. 

The delay is 12 issues, of the weekly, which = 3 months, not 12 months.
This is bad enough. Science, whose surcharges are at a roughly similar
rate, at least makes all of the content accessible. 

The similarity in their situation is noteworthy. A
large portion of the revenue of both journals comes from display
advertising. The rate they get for this depends upon the number of PRINT
subscribers--advertisers, rightly or wrongly, will not count electronic.
This includes both the library and regular personal rate subscriptions, on
which they presumably make a profit and the student rate subscribers,
whose revenue just about probably covers the cost of distribution.

It is fairly clear at least in my institution that the full rate faculty
subscribers will not cancel their subscriptions if the library has it
electronically for these two titles. They generally subscribe because
they want personal PRINT copies, for themselves and their labs. This is
not so clear for the student-rate subscribers, but again, I think it will
be true.

I have for several years been in extensive contact with the publishers of
both journals. I have told them, repeatedly, that they are such good
titles that they need not be as concerned about the future as they seem to
be--it is the third rate titles that should worry. And maybe even the
second rate ones.


David Goodman, Princeton University Biology Library				
dgoodman at princeton.edu            609-258-3235

On Thu, 19 Oct 2000, Charles Smith wrote:

> Eileen:
> 
> I just finished investigating the possibility of such a subscription the other day.  For my institution, with about 13,500 FTE students, the cost quoted was just over $6000. per year.  A few months ago I also investigated networking "Science;" the price I was quoted there was something over $4000., as I recall.  Neither price can be
> supported within our current budget situation, unfortunately.  Once I got the basic quotes, I did not investigate further regarding details.
> 
> I suppose these prices are not excessive, all things considered (remember, there are many individual subscriptions to these titles by faculty): institutional networking will undoubtedly cost both titles a considerable number of individual subscriptions.
> 
> I might note that by contrast, PNAS costs only a couple of hundred dollars a year more to receive electronically--a real bargain, considering its importance and mass (some 15,000 pages of print per year).
> 
> --Charles H. Smith, Western Kentucky University
> 
> Eileen Mathias wrote:
> 
> > Do any of you have institutional subscriptions to Nature magazine yet?  I have heard negative things (12-issue delay in online version), and can not get a handle on fees.  According to their web page, you must contact them and negotiate a fee depending on size of the institution.  Any negative/positive experiences?  Is pricing excessive?
> >
> > Eileen Mathias
> >
> > Eileen C. Mathias
> > Information Services Librarian &
> > Coordinator, Albert M Greenfield Digital
> >   Imaging Center for Collections
> > Ewell Sale Stewart Library
> > The Academy of Natural Sciences
> > 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway
> > Philadelphia, PA  19103
> > 215-299-1140
> > 215-299-1144 FAX
> > mathias at acnatsci.org
> 
>