From: "Hamaker, Charles" <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Tue, 13 Dec 2011 04:17:20 +0000

Sandy Thatcher said:

> I'm not sure why making money for your stockholders--which is
> what commercial companies are supposed to do--should be
> called "avaricious" behavior.

If the price of gas went up reliably 10-15 percent a year, what would
you call that Sandy?  The price of medical care goes up around if I
recall correctly 8-9% a year and its a national disaster. We are
watching a train wreck in journal publishing, and Sandy thinks such
behavior is just "making money for your stockholers"?  It's  classic
behavior of an oligarchy. Monopolist level behavior. Complete disdain
for your customers. And librarians have experience defining and
calling attention tojust such behavior.  We THOUGHT we had an answer,
the whole industry did, and some major publishers thought the battle
was over; have stated that the big deal in essence saved the industry
and libraries. That the industry had accepted and learned to live with
a 5% cap. Now we find major particpants in the pricing scheme have
gone on an orgy of acquisitions and pricing. Justifying their
behaviors with a range of rationales. Again.

One  publisher just this week, announced they had taken over 36
titles, to be added to their "new" base in addition to their annual
cap. (if the library had a subscription). This is publicly diseminated
information,  I'm not breaching any NDA. So much for noting what your
customers are experiencing right now. Now, in the midst of what many
are calling a depression you use your primary customer contracts this
way? Yeah, that's good karma for your stockholders. That'll increase
stock holder value. Wait till I explain to the local administrative
bodies what this means. Oh, it'll make sense, sure, just good ole
capitalists increasing stocholder value.

Publishers need called out, again, and we need to do that, publisher
by publisher working around the NDAs. And yes, I believe we will see
more libaries having to opt out of various schemes.

I have a candidate publisher for posting details-diferent than the one
mentioned above, but then there are so many to choose from-- name,
public pricing scheme,  most receent "offer",  CPU, etc. and I plan on
doing that later this week either here or with Against the Grain.
Depends on how much time I can take from my day job. I hope others can
do the same. If you have an outrageous offer or requirement on the
table, lets hear about it. There are ways to publicize, and these
publishers don't want publicity. Else why the NDA's they've tried to
introduce all over the place. They are afraid of the light of
sunshine. We need a strong disenfectant.

Capitalism with controls Sandy.

That's the lesson of the Banksters, and publicity is the control for
avaricious behavior in publishing. Anyone remember Gordon and Breach?

Trying to control information about avaricious behavior with NDA's  is
our own version of banksters. (some of those NDA's attempt to impose
some of their conditions in perpetuity no less!) LOL

Chuck Hamaker


________________________________________
From: LibLicense-L Discussion Forum [[log in to unmask]] on
behalf of LIBLICENSE [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Monday, December 12, 2011 9:11 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Future of the Subscription Model

From: Sandy Thatcher <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Sun, 11 Dec 2011 21:25:01 -0600

I'm not sure why making money for your stockholders--which is what
commercial companies are supposed to do--should be called "avaricious"
behavior.  These are not non-profit, mission-driven organizations;
they are businesses out to make as much profit as the market will
bear.  Lowering prices would be rational for them to do only if they
could gain greater market share by doing so and hence enhance overall
revenues.  Librarians need to stop thinking that commercial publishers
are, like them, public servants; they do what they do to make more
money for their investors, and they succeed or fail on that basis and
that basis alone. If librarians want to change the game, they should
stop giving in every time one of the commercial publishers offers a
special discount, under the veil of an NDA, to induce continued
subscription to a Big Deal. Commercial publishers know how to play
this game well, and they seem to win out every time.

Sandy Thatcher