From: Kerry Velilla <[log in to unmask]> Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2012 13:03:21 -0500 Thank you to everyone who provided feedback to my questions about why institutions still subscribe to print. I received a few responses via private message. For the sake of others that are interested in this topic, I have summarized the responses I received below, along with links to various resources that were recommended to me for further review. 1. Why do institutions still subscribe to print? Is it only when print is a less-expensive alternative? Are there taxes or other levies that make online-only subscriptions less appealing? For archival reasons, would an institution subscribing to print be more likely to drop print if the publisher participated in Portico or CLOCKSS? Various answers were provided including: No electronic edition, IP authentication not available, a license is required, there is a moving window of years available online, if there are differences between the print and online editions or if performance of online platform is unreliable, if perpetual access is not included, if a physical copy is preferred by researchers or required for audit purposes, or the cost is too high. One multi-campus institution noted that if there are extra fees for multi-campus print and online access then they will maintain one print subscription at one campus. One corporate librarian noted that they may require print for archival purposes to view drug advertisements that do not appear online. Only one response mentioned that the VAT is lower for print than online. 2. Does your institution retain any print subscriptions to journals that have an online subscription available? If your institution retains any print subscriptions, do you also subscribe to the online version? Most of the responses indicated that they would not retain print if online is available. Exceptions included if online was only offered as a bundle with print, if their scientists edit or publish frequently in a specific journal, or if perpetual access is not available. 3. If you were unable to subscribe to print only but instead had to subscribe to online in order to also subscribe to print, would you just subscribe online only or subscribe to online and print? What kind of price differential would make the difference for you? In most cases online only would be preferred. Again, exceptions were if users required print, if perpetual access were not available, or one international response noted that some international institutions do not have adequate infrastructure to move to e-only and they would still require print. Only one response included an estimate of price differential and that was at least 10% off the print + online rate. 4. If print were no longer available, would you renew your institution's print subscription as online only? Would you expect a certain price break? Or does your institution require a print copy regardless of online availability? Most would still prefer online, with the exceptions outlined above. One responded that they would not expect a price break, while another respondent would expect a price break. The international response indicated that of those institutions with inadequate infrastructure, 75% would not continue to subscribe. Other recommended links: NISO SERU http://www.niso.org/workrooms/seru "What to Withdraw: Print Collections Management in the Wake of Digitization" http://www.sr.ithaka.org/research-publications/what-withdraw-print-collections-management-wake-digitization "The E-only Tipping Point for Journals: What's Ahead in the Print-to-Electronic Transition Zone" http://www.arl.org/bm~doc/Electronic_Transition.pdf "Are Journal Publishers Trapped in the Dual-Media Transition Zone?" http://www.arl.org/bm~doc/arl-br-257-journals.pdf Duke University Libraries: Perkins Library System E-Only Journal Exceptions Policy http://library.duke.edu/about/collections/eonly.html "Report on 2011 PSP Annual Conference. Digital or Die; Inventing Our Future" http://www.pspcentral.org/documents/PSPWinter-Spring2011.pdf Best wishes, Kerry Kerry Velilla | Associate 785 484 2970 office | 785 305 0826 mobile [log in to unmask] | www.kwfco.com KWF is the leading management consultancy serving the scholarly publishing community. We offer a full range of professional services including strategy and innovation, epublishing and new media, and marketing and market research. KWF also assists clients with global rights and licensing, change management and productivity, and employee recruitment. KWF Editorial Services provides managing editor services on a contractual basis.