From: Roddy MacLeod <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Tue, 31 Jan 2017 09:27:42 +0000

Hi Alvin,

>"I don’t want to set up keyword searches on all individual journal titles or even the publisher sites but is that the only alternative at this point?"

A possible free alternative for your Table of Contents and keyword
search alerts is JournalTOCs:

http://www.journaltocs.ac.uk/index.php

JournalTOCs is the largest, free collection of journal Tables of
Contents, with over 28,000 journals indexed.  You can also make
keyword searches, and save your ToCs, or keyword searches, and receive
email alerts.

JournalTOCs is provided free by the School of Mathematical and
Computer Sciences, Heriot-Watt University.

There is also JournalTOCs *Premium* for libraries and research
information centres for which providing patrons with personalised
access to the latest research is important.
http://www.journaltocs.ac.uk/customise.php

Roddy MacLeod

On 30 January 2017 at 17:55, Hutchinson, Alvin <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Pardon the cross-posting:
>
> I have a number of saved searches with HighWire press and get results
> emailed to me regularly, based on a search I’ve done.
>
> But lately I have gotten this with the email alerts:
>
> IMPORTANT NOTICE FOR HIGHWIRE PORTAL ALERT SUBSCRIBERS
>
> This alert email is based on Highwire's portal search. We plan to disable
> both Highwire portal search & ALL associated Highwire portal alerts from Jan
> 31 2017. If there are particular types of email alerts (eg Table of
> Contents, Keyword, Author, etc) that you still wish to receive, then we
> recommend that you sign up to receive those alerts on your preferred
> journal\book sites. This will enable you to get the most personalised
> experience from your favourite journal\book sites.
>
> The first thing I should say is, I’m not complaining. This is/was a free
> service and HighWire has the right to discontinue it at any time for any
> reason.
>
> I have two questions—one specific and one general:
>
> Specifically:
>
> Does anyone know the reason for this? Was it too expensive to support in
> terms of technology or staff, etc.? I don’t want to set up keyword searches
> on all individual journal titles or even the publisher sites but is that the
> only alternative at this point?
>
> And Generally:
>
> Does anyone suspect that Google Scholar will also one day stop their alerts
> service? (Or stop altogether?)
>
> Again, it is offered at no charge so I can’t complain.
>
> But I wonder about how Google makes money from GS and if one day the
> powers-that-be will decide that although the cost is low, they can shave
> some costs by removing it from their portfolio of services.
>
> As I heard one of my esteemed colleagues say one time regarding another
> similar service: “the cost is low, but it’s not *zero*”
>
> -Alvin
>
> Alvin Hutchinson
> Smithsonian Libraries
> 202.633.1031