LISNews: Librarian News

Al Winchell may be onto something. After deciding he\'d had it with overpriced computer books \"written in computerese with 95 percent of its information relevant only to the beanie with spinner crowd, and so techie that much of the information was a potential intro to the Windows Blue Screen of Death,\" he decided to develop The GoodBoot Computing Journal,\" an ongoing publication for real computer users. According to the author, \"the Journal provides computer information written in King’s English. It has graphics that correspond with what one will actually see on their monitor. Each tutorial is presented in short bursts allowing one to master a technique quickly without having to miss a single golf outing.\" He provides more description in the article as well as subscription information. More

Lee Hadden Writes: \"
There are several new items about scientific publishing in the October
18, 2001 issue of Nature:
\"Journal editors defect in protest at subscription costs\" on p.
662-663;
\"The best and worst of times--What winners will emerge from the
battles over access to scholarly date?\" by David R. Worlock, on p. 671;
\"Lessons for the future of journals--Science journals can continue to
thrive because they provide major benefits,\" by Carol Tenopir and Donald W.
King, on p. 672.
If you have an e-subscription to Nature, you can access the journal
at: nature.com\"

Library Journal reports (briefly) on the 10/1 Forum on Publishing Alternatives in Science at Johns Hopkins:

\"We gave our intellectual property away to private firms and scholarly societies,\" said David E. Shulenburger, provost of the University of Kansas . . . \"They have found they can sell it back to us at prices that will produce profits and/or support the cost of other activities.\" Shulenburger had the figures to back up the assertions. From 1986 to 1999, the number of journals grew from 103,700 to 161,000 (55 percent). While the Consumer Price Index increased 49 percent in that period and the price of healthcare went up 111 percent, the cost of scholarly journals increased 175 percent.

More (registration required).

A case study from the most recent Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship:

Proliferation of online access to primary literature has provided great opportunities for science libraries. Merging these resources with previously held formats, and negotiating with vendors for this access, remains a challenge at many institutions, regardless of size. This article highlights Haverford College\'s attempts to integrate these resources in an effort to enhance accessibility and to reduce costs inherent in this duplication of formats. Areas addressed include material formats, faculty and department cultures, consortial arrangements, users\' habits, implications for the online catalog, financial imperatives and communication patterns between our main and branch libraries. Initiatives currently underway are highlighted, as well as indications of how they will shape our future behaviors.

More.