Serial Prices Research Articles

Predicting the Future in 3,000 Words and Charts: The Library Journal Serials Pricing Article

ABSTRACTFor many within the library industry, the annual Library Journal serials pricing article is a valuable overview of the issues in the serials industry and an essential budgeting tool. Presented by the authors of the article, this program discussed the history, methodology, standards, and practices used to create the article. Previously unpublished summary data from the 2015, 2016, and 2017 articles was also presented to compare pricing trends over the three-year period.

Comparing published scientific journal articles to their pre-print versions

Academic publishers claim that they add value to scholarly communications by coordinating reviews and contributing and enhancing text during publication. These contributions come at a considerable cost: U.S. academic libraries paid $1.7 billion for serial subscriptions in 2008 alone. Library budgets, in contrast, are flat and not able to keep pace with serial price inflation. We have investigated the publishers' value proposition by conducting a comparative study of pre-print papers from two distinct science, technology, and medicine (STM) corpora and their final published counterparts. This comparison had two working assumptions: 1) if the publishers' argument is valid, the text of a pre-print paper should vary measurably from its corresponding final published version, and 2) by applying standard similarity measures, we should be able to detect and quantify such differences. Our analysis revealed that the text contents of the scientific papers generally changed very little from their pre-print to final published versions. These findings contribute empirical indicators to discussions of the added value of commercial publishers and therefore should influence libraries' economic decisions regarding access to scholarly publications.

Key Issue - Out of the shadows: the case for a national repository of open content

Looking back on the history of the open access (OA) movement in the UK from a library perspective, we can see that it has been a journey towards a not fully clear destination, motivated differently at different times, and yet nonetheless a journey undertaken with seriousness and a determination to see change. Working in the scholarly communications field back at the time of the Budapest Initiative in 2002, it seemed to me and to colleagues in other research university libraries throughout the UK that we had found the solution to the besetting problem of our new digital age, the accelerating rise in the cost of journals, or the ‘serials pricing crisis’. Librarians on both sides of the Atlantic soon became very familiar with early versions of this graph (Figure 1), produced by the Association of Research Libraries. It clearly shows the price of serials rising frighteningly and unsustainably, illustrating both apparent profiteering by the publishers concerned, and the prospect for libraries of having to make cancellations on a large scale.

A global perspective on ILL: is it in good health and will it survive?

The state of inter-library lending (ILL) in the world today is placed in the context of the still developing electronic publishing environment: in particular the impact of the big deals, open access and retrospective conversion of serial back-files which have contributed to the dramatic decline in ILL over the last ten years. The factors that influence developments in ILL are identified and analysed. The robust state of ILL and document supply in the US, or American ‘exceptionalism’, will be considered briefly. The continued importance of the inter-lending and document supply service is stressed, given the background of reduced library budgets, increasing serial prices and increasing demands from more researchers for material not held locally. Reference is made to developments in various countries, especially the UK, Denmark, the US and The Netherlands.

Polishing the Crystal Ball: Using Historical Data to Project Serials Trends and Pricing

Presented by the authors of the annual Library Journal (LJ) serials pricing article, this program discussed the major serials pricing studies used by libraries. The strengths and weaknesses of methodologies utilized to create the LJ article as well as the Prices of U.S. and Foreign Published Materials Index compiled by the ALA ALCTS Library Materials Price Index Editorial Board were presented. Although the studies may have differing approaches, both clearly indicate that serial prices are increasing. Libraries need to be aware of what the impact of these price changes will be on their future budgets.

Buying from Secondary Markets: Acquiring Dollars and Sense

Between 2004 and 2008, Morris Library's monographic budget was reduced by over $400,000 representing a fifty percent reduction. The increase in serial prices forced the shifting of monograph funds to the serials budget. Despite this shift, the increase in serials costs, combined with an otherwise flat budget, resulted in two serials' cancellation projects in a span of four years. Faced with these economic realities, the acquisitions unit at Southern Illinois University's Morris Library has sought alternative schemas to save money. One decision was to consider purchasing materials from secondary and used-book sources. For fiscal year 2009, a database was constructed of purchases to track how much money was saved buying from these resources versus buying from commercial vendors. The authors then tracked how often the preservation unit within the library was consulted to determine whether the materials were in acceptable condition and/or could be reasonably repaired. From this tracking, we hoped to determine and evaluate the trade-offs between the money saved and the additional burden placed on Preservation resulting from this approach to purchasing.

Impact of exchange rates on periodicals subscription in Indian libraries

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to study the effects of exchange rates of foreign currencies on the material budget in the libraries in India.Design/methodology/approachA sample of journals costing in foreign currency was selected for the purpose of study. A comparison of inflation rate pertaining to serial price is done with the general rate of inflation in India.FindingsThe paper finds that exchange rates of foreign currencies have extensive impact on the acquisitions budget of the libraries in India.Practical implicationsAcademic institutions may protect the buying powers of the libraries while allocating funds, keeping in mind the strengthening or weakening of Indian Rupee in comparison to foreign currencies.Originality/valueThis is one of the comprehensive studies on the impact of foreign exchange on subscription in Indian libraries system.

New low-frequency spread measures

I develop new spread proxies that pick up on three attributes of the low-frequency (daily) data: (1) price clustering, (2) serial price covariance accounting for midpoint prices on no-trade days, and (3) the quoted spread that is available on no-trade days. I develop and empirically test two different approaches: an integrated model and combined models. I test both new and existing low-frequency spread measures relative to two high-frequency benchmarks (percent effective spread and percent quoted spread) on three performance dimensions: (1) higher individual firm correlation with the benchmarks, (2) higher portfolio correlation with the benchmarks, and (3) lower distance relative to the benchmarks. I find that on all three performance dimensions the new integrated model and the new combined model do significantly better than existing low-frequency spread proxies.

New Low-Frequency Spread Measures

I develop new spread proxies that pick up on three attributes of the low-frequency (daily) data: (1) price clustering, (2) serial price covariance accounting for midpoint prices on no-trade days, and (3) the quoted spread which is available on no-trade days. I develop and empirically test two different approaches: an integrated model and combined models. I test both new and existing low-frequency spread measures relative to two high-frequency benchmarks (percent effective spread and percent quoted spread) on three performance dimensions: (1) higher individual firm correlation with the benchmarks, (2) higher portfolio correlation with the benchmarks, or (3) lower distance relative to the benchmarks. I find that on all three performance dimensions the new integrated model and the new combined model do significantly better than existing low-frequency spread proxies.

Adding Value to the Catalog in an Open Access World

SUMMARY As serial prices rise exponentially and budgets plummet, serials aficionados can still increase access to information by adding bibliographic records for open access journals to library catalogs. Anna Hood shared procedures and practices on how she is adding value to her library's catalog by adding such records. Bridging the gap between users and open access journals in such a manner allows for true openness. An open access journal is not truly “open” unless we take the time to unrestrict and make them available to all.

Law Serials Pricing and Mergers: A Portfolio Approach

Using data from more than 400 legal serials, I estimate the impact of six publisher mergers on law serial prices during the period, 1990-2000. The results suggest that merger-related price increases were substantial during this period, even after accounting for secular price trends. Furthermore, these merger effects occurred across a broadly-defined portfolio of serial titles consisting of legal encyclopedias and treatises. For other types of serials, such as newsletters and looseleaf services, these effects were not observed. Based on the portfolio demand behavior of buyers, I offer an explanation for this result based on the degree of product differentiation at the level of the individual title. Of particular interest is the purchase of West Publishing Company by Thomson Financial & Professional Publishing Group in 1996. Despite a government-mandated divestiture of more than 50 titles, the results indicate that titles published by West-Thomson experienced a significant post-merger price increase.

Electronic journals redux

When academic journals in electronic format were introduced, librarians eagerly anticipated a drop in wildly escalating journal prices. After all, publishers incur no paper costs, no mailing costs, and no significant additional production costs in distributing an electronic equivalent to their paper journals. However, to date, the crisis in rising serial costs has not been alleviated by the availability of electronic journals. Seven years after his first column discussing libraries' struggles with serial prices, the author revisits the topic of electronic journals and summarizes what we have learned about using journals in this format.

REAL OPTIONS VOLATILITY ESTIMATION WITH CORRELATED INPUTS

Real Options Analysis (ROA) provides a framework for valuing reactive and proactive managerial flexibility in investment decisions. Estimating the volatility parameter for a real options model is challenging because there are typically no historical returns for the underlying asset and no current market prices. A previously developed method of using simulation to estimate the volatility parameter for a real investment is demonstrated. The effects of serial price correlation and price-demand cross-correlation on volatility parameters developed with this method are explained. Finally, managerial implications of these findings are discussed.

학술 커뮤니케이션의 새로운 동향 : 자유이용을 중심으로

The serials pricing and licensing crises have caused the problem of limited access to scholarly information and the problem of its preservation. To cope with these crises, various types of scholarly communication models are under study now. Open Access is one of the possible solutions among these new trials. This study has investigated the history of Open Access, articulated the first considerations for the spread of Open Access, and proposed the role of librarians during the progress.

Pricing Electronic Information: A Snapshot of New Serials Pricing Models

Setting prices for serials has always been an art rather than a science. The traditional journal subscription has served both publishers and librarians well, but it is inflexible and unresponsive to changes in the complex library environment in which the buyer may not be the real user. The advent of online information delivery has provided publishers and librarians with the opportunity to remodel the way they do business together. This article evaluates the impact that online publishing has had on the costs involved in publishing quality scholarship and reviews new pricing models that are emerging in a world in which many types of publication—monographs, reference works, journals, and magazines—are merely “content” on the Internet. Serials Review 2002; 28:171–175.

Serials Prices and Subscriptions in the Social Sciences

Scholars and researchers are aware of a serious dilemma relating to the pricing of journals and have focused their recent writings on disciplines with the highest journal pricing: science, medicine, and technology. John M. Budd examines trends in pricing and subscriptions of a selected group of social science journals, noting that while there is a trend toward higher prices and fewer subscribers, the dynamics of publishing in this broad field are complex and deserving of investigation.

The market for academic journals

Library journal subscriptions are treated as a public good. A monopoly publisher sells subscriptions to both libraries and individuals. For individuals, the journal is a private good. Profit maximization can lead to high institutional prices and few individual subscribers. This outcome is reinforced by increases in publishing costs. Library serial prices fall if patrons pay access costs and/or there is congestion. Data are presented to support these conclusions. Library prices are two to ten times higher than private prices; there are as few as two to four individual subscribers in an academic journal market. Library subscription prices are directly related to the number of consumers who use the library serial.

Is a Decision Support System Enough? Tactical Versus Strategic Solutions To The Serials Pricing Crisis

Is a Decision Support System Enough? Tactical Versus Strategic Solutions To The Serials Pricing Crisis

Is a Decision Support System Enough? Tactical Versus Strategic Solutions To The Serials Pricing Crisis

Is a Decision Support System Enough? Tactical Versus Strategic Solutions To The Serials Pricing Crisis

The journals crisis: redirecting the blame.

Publishers and librarians are the usual culprits blamed for the "journals crisis", typically defined as an ever-tightening spiral of increasing serial prices and decreasing number of subscribers. An alternative viewpoint is expressed in this article-the author community bears the brunt of the blame for this situation. The glut of published articles, the surplus of journals, and the growing publication rate per academic chemist drive the crisis. Therefore, any global publication paradigm change must originate from within the author community.