Abstract and Cited References for : Roth DL "Chemistry Journals: Cost-effectiveness, seminal titles and exchange rate profiteering " Science & Technology Libraries 22(3-4):59-70, 2002 (2004)

Tue Aug 3 12:58:57 EDT 2004

Dana L. Roth : dzrlib at library.caltech.edu

TITLE : Chemistry Journals: Cost-effectiveness, seminal titles and exchange
        rate profiteering (Article, English)

AUTHOR: D.L. Roth
SOURCE: Science & Technology Libraries 22(3-4):59-70, 2002
        (published in 2004)
        Haworth Press Inc. Binghamton

Author Address: D.L. Roth, 1200 E. Calif. Blvd. Pasadena, CA 91125

Abstract:

The cost-effectiveness of STM journals has been compared within several
subject areas, beginning with Henry Barschall's work with the physics
literature in the late 1980s. A new use-independent cost-effectiveness
metric is proposed and calculated for journals in several chemistry
subdisciplines.

Publisher and year-of-publication data for seminal journal articles assigned
in a graduate-level organic synthesis class are presented.

The effects of publisher policies in establishing and enforcing differential
subscription prices for European and non-European customers on the rise of
journal subscription costs and also on possible exchange-rate profiteering
are discussed.

Cited References:
 cited references ...

1a. H.H. Barschall, "The Cost of Physics Journals,"  Physics Today  39(12)
:34-36, December 1986.
http://barschall.stanford.edu/   (accessed 2/15/03)

1b. H.H. Barschall, "The Cost-Effectiveness of Physics  Journals,"  Physics
Today  41 (7):56-59, July 1988.  http://barschall.stanford.edu/   (accessed
2/15/03)

1c. H.H. Barschall, "Cost-Effectiveness of Physics Journals," Physics Today
 42 (3):15-16, March 1989. http://barschall.stanford.edu/   (accessed 2/15/03)

2a.  M.M. Case, " Measuring the Cost Effectiveness of Journals: The
Wisconsin Experience,"
http://www.arl.org/newsltr/205/wisconsin.html (accessed 2/6/03).

2b.  G. Soete, "Measuring the Cost-Effectiveness of Journals: Ten Years
After Barschall,"
http://www.library.wisc.edu/projects/glsdo/cost.html (accessed 2/6/03).

This reference includes links to "The Article," as well as data tables for
physics, economics and neuroscience. Selected Sources (for other studies)
are listed at the end of "The Article."

2c. J.G. Christensen, "Chemistry Journal Costs at One University,"  Serials
Review  18 (3): 19-34, Fall 2000.

2d. K. Rouse, " Chemistry Journal Cost Study,"
http://www.library.wisc.edu/libraries/Chemistry/cost.htm (accessed 2/6/03)

2e.  K.L. Hahn and L.A. Faulkner, "Evaluative Usage-based Metrics for he
Selection of E-journals,"  College and Research Libraries 63 (3):215-227,
May 2002.

3a.  R. Poynder, "A True Market Failure: Professor Mark McCabe talks about
problems in the STM publishing industry," Information Today  19 (11):1, 56,
58, December 2002. http://www.infotoday.com/it/dec02/poynder.htm (accessed
2/6/03).

3b. M. Cornet and B. Vollard, "Tackling the Journal Crisis,"  CPB Working
Paper 121, March 2000. http://www.cpb.nl/eng/pub/werkdoc/121 (CPB
Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis, The Hague, The Netherlands)
(accessed 2/6/03)

4a.  D. Bradley, "Journal Publishers to Police Themselves,"  Information
Today 16(21) October 28, 2002,
http://www.the-scientist.com/yr2002/oct/prof2_021028.html (accessed 2/6/03).

4b. Reed-Elsevier Financial Highlights (for the six months ending June 30, 2001)
http://www.reedelsevier.com/investors/2001/interim2001.pdf (accessed 2/6/03).

4c. R. Morais, "Double Dutch No longer; Amid a media recession, Crispin
Davis is coining money at Reed Elsevier. How did he pull that off?"
Forbes.com (11/11/01) http://www.forbes.com/global/2002/1111/044.html
(accessed 2/6/03)

4d. P. Gooden, et. al., "Scientific Publishing: Knowledge is Power"  Morgan
Stanley Industry Overview (Sept. 30, 2002).  Investext Database (accessed
2/6/03)

5a. A. Buckholtz, "Returning Scientific Publishing to Scientists,"  Journal
of Electronic Publishing  7, no.1 (August 2001).
http://www.press.umich.edu/jep/07-01/buckholtz.html (accessed 2/6/03).

5b.  A notable exception is Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc. publishers of
SynLett and Synthesis.   See:
K. Kurz,  "Pricing of Chemistry Journals -- A Comparison of Journals
Published by Not-for Profit Organizations and Commercial Publishers."
Newsletter on Serials Pricing Issues  249 (June 16, 2000). 249.5
http://www-mathdoc.ujf-grenoble.fr/NSPI/Numeros/2000-249.html#5

6. "ACS Paragon System; new journal manuscript submission system."  Chemical
& Engineering News.  80 (49):9, December 9, 2002.

7.  Because of the wide variety of pricing models, the print subscription
cost of each journal was used.  This has the disadvantage of penalizing the
Royal Society of Chemistry and the American Institute of Physics, since they
include electronic access at no additional charge.  This is in marked
contrast with commercial publishers, who require additional payment for
comparable electronic access.  Societies are at an additional disadvantage
because they also provide package discounts.  Further analysis to compensate
for these differences is required. In addition, pages were assumed to be
equivalent although the print density and page size of commercial journals
is often less than that of society journals.

8a.  "The Impact Factor."  Institute for Scientific Information.
http://www.isinet.com/isi/hot/essays/journalcitationreports/7.html (accessed
(2/6/03).

8b.  "M. Amin and M. Mabe, "Impact Factors: Use and Abuse."  Perspectives in
Publishing  no.1 (October 2000).
http://www.elsevier.com/homepage/about/ita/editors/perspectives1.pdf
(accessed 2/12/03).  Amin and Mabe's main point is that "the value of the
impact factor is affected by factors that include the subject area of the
journal, the type of journal (letters, full papers, reviews) ..."  This
study was designed to avoid these problems.

9a.  Robert Maxwell (former owner of Pergamon Press, who died in 1991) is
reported to have said, "that even if all libraries, save one, cancelled
their subscriptions to his journals, he could still make money by raising
the price of that last subscription very, very high."  I.E. McDermott,
"Confessions of a Serial Clicker."  Searcher  10(9), 8, October 2002.

9b.  E. Garfield, "Why Scientific Journals should be Audited,"  Essays of an
Information Scientist  14 :354-355, 1991.
http://www.garfield.library.upenn.edu/essays.html (accessed 2/6/03).

10.  M. Clark, "Synthetic chemical literature".  J. Chem. Inf. Comput. Sci.
1999, 39, 635-637.
http://pubs.acs.org/cgi-bin/article.cgi/jcisd8/1999/39/i04/pdf/ci990001e.pdf

11a.  International Financial Statistics Yearbook, 1995.  Washington, D.C.,
International Monetary Fund, c1995.

11b. Oanda.com (The Currency Site). http://www.oanda.com/convert/fxhistory
(accessed 12/11/02).

12a.  D. L. Roth, "US Dollar vs Dutch Guilder."  Newsletter on Serials
Pricing Issues  200 (January 29, 1998). 200.2.
http://www.lib.unc.edu/prices/1998/PRIC200.HTML#200.2 (accessed 2/6/03).

12b.  J. Tagler, "Reply: Newsletter on Serial Pricing Issues, No. 200."
Newsletter on Serials Pricing Issues 204 (March 13, 1998). 204.1
http://www-mathdoc.ujf-grenoble.fr/NSPI/Numeros/1998-204.html (accessed 2/6/03).

13.  D. Haank, "New Elsevier Science Journal Pricing Policy to Accompany
Transition from Print to Digital Delivery,"  Newsletter on Serial Pricing
Issues, no. 227 (June 14, 1999). 227.2.
http://www.lib.unc.edu/prices/1999/PRIC227.HTML (accessed 2/6/03).

14.  S. J. Bensman, "The Structure of the Library Market for Scientific
Journals: The Case of Chemistry."  Library Resources & Technical Services
40 (2):145-170, April 1998.

Additional Resources:
P. Brueggeman, "Impact of Scientific Journal Costs,"
http://scilib.ucsd.edu/sio/guide/prices/ (accessed 2/6/03).

SPARC, "Declaring Independence", Appendix B
http://www.arl.org/sparc/DI/appendixB.html (accessed 2/6/03).

D.L. Roth, " Pricing of Chemistry Journals," Newsletter on Serials Pricing
Issues, no. 253, 9/22/2000.
http://www-mathdoc.ujf-grenoble.fr/NSPI/Numeros/2000-253.html (accessed
2/6/03).

D.L. Roth, "Differential Pricing and Exchange Rate Profits,"  IATUL
Proceedings (New Series) Vol 12, 2002.
http://www.iatul.org/conference/02/Roth.pdf  (accessed 2/6/03).

AUTHOR :
Dana L. Roth
Millikan Library / Caltech 1-32
1200 E. California Blvd. Pasadena, CA 91125
626-395-6423  fax 626-792-7540
dzrlib at library.caltech.edu
http://library.caltech.edu/collections/chemistry.htm