As a publisher, I'm writing to get some feedback from some
librarians out there that may be able to help me get a feel
for
how our current subscribers would react to a new pricing
model.
Our magazine, Science News, currently has a significant
number of
Institutional subscribers (mostly high schools, and public
libraries, mixed in with some universities and corporations)
that
have been paying the same rate as individual subscribers
ever
since our magazine has been in business, since 1921 to be
exact.
In addition to that our individual subscription price
hasn't gone
up since 2001. We are leaning towards introducing increased
rates for institutions and offer a site license to our
online
content and archives. We intend to keep our pricing
competitive
and much cheaper than most journals but even so, our rates
for
our institutional subscribers would be increasing quite
significantly.
As a librarian, or any other type of institution, that is
paying
hundreds of dollars for other journals, would it be
difficult to
accept this significant change? Or would most librarians
understand such a change in direction? Any other concerns
or
feedback would be much appreciated.
A little more about our magazine: Science News is an
award-winning weekly newsmagazine covering the most
important
research in all fields of science. Its 16 pages each week
are
packed with short, accurate articles that appeal to both
general
readers and scientists. There are 51 issues printed per
year.
We are a non-profit organization.
Thank you.
Best Regards,
Harry Rothmann
Science Service
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