Re: Is it time to stop printing journals?

Scott Plutchak from UAB writes in his blog response:

"We certainly don't need to keep the print to satisfy
our user 
base.  Two years ago we stopped getting any print for our 
ScienceDirect titles.  I did not get a single question,
comment, 
or expression of concern from faculty or students.  We've
reached 
the point where librarians tend to worry a lot more about
the 
print than the people who use our libraries do."

I am curious to hear whether this is a commonly held
sentiment. 
In other words, do the librarians on this list have the
sense 
that their patrons are operating in a post-print world (not
in 
the OA/PMC/Battle Royale sense of the term, but meaning have
we 
outgrown print)?  If so, this would be a remarkable shift,
and a 
remarkably quick one.  Certainly when I helped launch The 
Berkeley Electronic Press in 2000, print was sacrosanct. 
The 
idea of a viable electronic-only journal publisher was met
with 
feedback running the wide gamut from skepticism to scorn. 
If 
this equation has indeed flipped in a matter of a half-dozen
or 
so years, this ranks as one of the most important periods in

scholarly communication history.

Best, Greg

Greg Tananbaum
gtananbaumgmail.com
(510) 295-7504

On 3/28/07, T Scott Plutchak <tscottuab.edu> wrote:
>
> I've posted a reply to Mark's questions here:
> http://tscott.typepad.com/tsp/2007/03/no_more_print.html

>
> T. Scott Plutchak
>
> Director, Lister Hill Library of the Health Sciences
> University of Alabama at Birmingham
> tscottuab.edu
>
> -----Original Message-----
> [mailto:owner-liblicense-llists.yale.edu] On Behalf
Of Mark Leader
> Sent: Tuesday, March 27, 2007 5:08 PM
> To: liblicense-llists.yale.edu
> Subject: Is it time to stop printing journals?
>
> The American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) is
considering
> discontinuing the print version of its journal
Molecular Biology
> of the Cell (MBC). We welcome comments from the library
community
> about the value of print journals and the adequacy of
LOCKSS,
> Portico, and PubMed Central as archives of electronic
journals.
> We are also curious about whether librarians would be
interested
> in a print-on-demand option for obtaining archival
print copies
> if regular print subscriptions were discontinued.
>
> The impetus for discontinuing the print edition is a
desire to reduce
> author charges, especially for color figures. The cost
of producing the
> print edition greatly exceeds revenue from print
subscriptions. Author
> charges (page charges and color charges) are the
largest source of
> revenue for the journal. In effect, authors are
subsidizing the print
> subscriptions.
>
> We suspect that it is not feasible to raise the print
subscription rate
> enough to cover the cost of print. The many-fold
increase in the
> subscription rate that would be required would likely
launch a vicious
> cycle of declining subscriptions and escalating
subscription rates and
> would be tantamount to discontinuing the print journal
anyway, but in a
> sloppy, uncontrolled manner. The online version of MBC
is the journal of
> record and is rich in material not found in print:
>
> More than 60% of the articles include supplemental data
or videos
> online.  Since 2000, print subscriptions have been
available only
> to institutions that also have online subscriptions
(and to ASCB
> members, who receive access to the online journal as a
benefit of
> membership).
>
> The online institutional subscription rate is on the
low side:
> $578 for approximately 5400 pages per year.  The print
> subscription rate is ridiculously low:  an additional
$83 for a
> U.S. institution.  For 2007, the rates were increased
for the
> first time since 2002.  As we strive to maintain the
journal's
> financial viability while maintaining a fair balance of
revenue
> sources, we ve had to take a hard look at the value of
the print
> journal, which seems to be expensive to produce and
perhaps
> unnecessary. We have been soliciting comments from
authors,
> editors, and ASCB members and would also like to hear
from
> librarians.
>
> Thanks in advance for your advice!
>
> W. Mark Leader
> Director of Publications
> American Society for Cell Biology
> mleaderascb.org