From: "Friend, Fred" <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Fri, 2 Aug 2013 10:26:44 +0000

Yes, many societies have taken this apparently easy route of signing
over their journals to the big commercial publishers. The problem is
that what appears an easy solution for the society makes life more
difficult for the rest of the world-wide research community, in the
form of higher journal prices and possibly more restricted re-use
rights. Also even if handing over their journal to Elsevier seemed the
only viable solution at the time, it is no longer so, as the advent of
free publishing software and research -friendly open access publishers
has provided societies with an alternative, enabling them to keep
control of the journal's future. Any society negotiating with a
commercial publisher should remember that the prime aim for the
commercial publisher is higher profit and not the society's
well-being. "Caveat emptor" of publishing services.

Fred Friend
Honorary Director Scholarly Communication UCL

________________________________________

From: "Jones, Doug" <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Thu, 1 Aug 2013 00:29:16 +0000

David--thanks for this example. It would be interesting to know the
terms and expectations to which the National Kidney Foundation agreed
when they (apparently) decided to sign over rights to the journal.
I'm not familiar with this particular case, so please clarify as
appropriate.

Many societies/foundations have decided to get out of a non-core,
high-capital-investment operation (publishing) with the understanding
that a professional publisher provides more resources/options for both
authors and readers AND (with a commercial publisher) they may be
guaranteed annual payments plus future increases.

Doug

Douglas Jones
Senior Assistant to the Dean
University of Arizona Libraries
Tucson, AZ 85721
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-----Original Message-----

From: "Osterbur, David L." <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Wed, 31 Jul 2013 09:28:58 -0400

Elsevier is an appropriate comparison. Look at the price of American
Journal of Kidney Disease from 2008 to 2009. Elsevier took over
publication that year from the National Kidney Foundation. Our price
for the journal increased 450%.

David L. Osterbur, Ph.D.
Director of Access and Public Services
Countway Library of Medicine
Harvard Medical School
Boston, MA   02115
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