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  • From: tom poe <tompoe AT ableweb.net>
  • To: "DMCA_Discuss AT lists.microshaft.org" <DMCA_Discuss AT lists.microshaft.org>
  • Cc: Community Studios <community_studios AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [Community_studios] Re: [DMCA_Discuss] Libraries Talking to DOJ re Publisher Mergers
  • Date: Sun, 01 Jun 2003 17:01:56 -0000

Hi: Well, see, we really don't need to be splitting up that $100
billion amongst 188 schools. If we just have one library, and one
really nifty university research setup, the market would be really
efficient. The other schools can concentrate on stuff like, . . . uh,
you know, stuff.

I am not sure what all those librarians are fussing about. I understand
we're going to have a rash of new gas stations, and gasoline attendants
will have plenty of opportunities. In fact, the librarians should be in
training now, at least according to Bayh-Dole, right? :)
Tom Poe
Open Studios
Reno, NV
http://www.studioforrecording.org/
On Sun, 2003-06-01 at 09:05, Seth Johnson wrote:
>
>
> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: Libraries communicate with DOJ re publisher mergers
> Date: Sun, 01 Jun 2003 08:58:59 -0700 (PDT)
> From: martin AT skmassociates.net
> Reply-To: SCHOLCOMM AT ala.org
> To: "ACRL Scholarly Communication T.F." <SCHOLCOMM AT ala.org>
>
> For Immediate Release-May 30, 2003
>
> For more information, contact:
> Dawn Boeckermann, Metropolitan Group
> (503) 223-3299 or dboeckermann AT metgroup.com
> Please excuse duplicate postings.
>
> ACRL has been working with several other library organizations to
> create a document that suggests that journal publishing cannot be
> regarded in the same light as other industries when the Department of
> Justice examines the impacts of mergers and acquisitions. The white
> paper has been sent to Justice; what follows is the press release
> describing the effort that is under way.
>
> You will be kept informed of other related developments as they occur.
> Please let me or Ray English (chair of the ACRL Scholarly
> Communications Committee) know if you have a particular interest in
> this topic or any further insights.
>
> Sue Martin
> Visiting Program Officer for Scholarly Communication
> Association of College and Research Libraries
>
> ##########
> LIBRARIES URGE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT TO BLOCK CINVEN AND CANDOVER
> PURCHASE OF BERTELSMANNSPRINGER
>
> Publisher Mergers Threaten Access to Crucial Research
>
> Washington, D.C. - The Information Access Alliance, a group of six
> library organizations, is urging the U.S. Department of Justice to
> block Cinven and Candover's proposed purchase of BertelsmannSpringer.
> The Alliance is concerned that this transaction will bring about a
> reduction in access to critical research information.
>
> Cinven and Candover, a partnership of UK-based private equity firms,
> has announced its intent to acquire BertelsmannSpringer, the academic
> publishing arm of Bertelsmann AG. The partnership also announced its
> intent to merge BertelsmannSpringer with Kluwer Academic Publishers,
> which Cinven and Candover acquired in January, to form the second
> largest publisher of scientific journals in the world, trailing only
> Elsevier Science.
>
> The Information Access Alliance, comprised of the American Association
> of Law Libraries, American Library Association, Association of College
> and Research Libraries, Association of Research Libraries, Medical
> Library Association, and SPARC (Scholarly Publishing and Academic
> Resources Coalition), was created because of a shared concern about
> the effects of mergers among publishers of science journals and legal
> serial publications.
>
> "Because of the anti-competitive impact we believe will result from
> the combining of Springer and Kluwer Academic Publishing, the
> Information Access Alliance is urging the Department of Justice to
> stop this merger," said Mary M. Case, Association of Research
> Libraries and spokesperson for the Alliance.
>
> "History shows that when journal publishers merge, consumers suffer,"
> said James G. Neal, Vice President for Information Services and
> University Librarian at Columbia University. "The increased market
> power resulting from recent mergers has allowed publishers to boost
> prices. This has led to subscription cancellations, which deprive
> scientists of access to basic tools they need to conduct research."
>
> According to David Shulenburger, Provost at the University of Kansas,
> "the scientific research that journals support and document is a key
> contributor to the quality of life in and economic well-being of our
> nation. The erosion of access to research not only poses a risk to
> tomorrow's discoveries, but because the U.S. government spends $100
> billion annually on research, it reduces the American taxpayers'
> return on investment. It is a situation that urgently needs to be
> addressed."
>
> Libraries are the main market for science journals, according to the
> Alliance. Over the past 20 years, the prices libraries pay for
> journals
> have risen at three times the rate of inflation. Analysis by the
> Alliance suggests that merger activity has been a significant factor
> in this inflation. For example, Harcourt's purchase of
> Churchill-Livingston and Mosby in 1997 and 1998, as well as Wolters
> Kluwer's purchase of Plenum Publishing, Thomson Science, and Waverly
> in 1998, resulted in average prices for the journals in each of the
> two new combined portfolios that were well above their pre-merger
> levels.
>
> "Reduced access is particularly problematic in the medical arena,"
> said the Medical Library Association 's Executive Director Carla J.
> Funk. "Physicians all over the country depend on access to journals to
> help them with the diagnosis and treatment of patients. And
> researchers' access to earlier works has led to such notable advances
> as the development of penicillin and the unraveling of the mysteries
> of DNA and the human genome and is essential for the prevention of
> medical errors in the treatment of patients."
>
> The emergence of electronic publishing and the Internet, rather than
> solving the problem, may actually be contributing to the concentration
> of market power in the hands of a few large publishers, according to
> the Alliance. "The large science publishers are now offering
> electronic
> versions of their journals to libraries primarily as large bundles of
> titles, and these bundles increase in price each year at several times
> inflation," according to Ross Atkinson, Associate University Librarian
> for Collections at Cornell University. "If one refuses to buy the whole
> bundle, and opts instead for individual journals, the prices of those
> single journal titles are greatly increased by the publisher-so that a
> library is left with the choice of either buying the whole bundle or
> being able to afford only a limited number of journal titles from that
> publisher. Buying the whole bundle also places enormous strain on
> library budgets, leaving little funding left over to purchase the
> equally important journals of smaller, often not-for-profit
> publishers. Allowing another huge for-profit science publisher to
> emerge, which will likely employ similar bundling methods, will
> certainly further exacerbate this situation."
>
> BertelsmannSpringer is a publishing company specializing in the
> science and business-to-business sectors. It publishes approximately
> 700 science journals. Cinven and Candover already own Kluwer Academic
> Publishers, which publishes approximately 700 science journal titles.
> The two companies combined would control approximately 20 percent of
> the science market (as measured by the number of commercial titles
> included in the Institute for Scientific Information citation
> database).
>
> News reports indicate that BertelsmannSpringer is being sold for more
> than 10 times its current pre-tax profit. Cinven and Candover have
> stated their intention to increase the new combined entity's profit
> margin to 38 percent, in line with Elsevier Science. While operating
> efficiencies will likely contribute part of the rise, experience
> following other mergers in the industry shows that returns are likely
> to be driven by price increases, as well.
>
> # # #
>
> Information Access Alliance member organizations
>
> The American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) is a nonprofit
> educational organization dedicated to providing leadership and
> advocacy in the field of legal information and information policy. Our
> more than 5,000 members respond to the legal information needs of
> legislators, judges and other public officials, corporations and small
> businesses, law professors and students, attorneys, and members of the
> general public.
>
> The American Library Association (ALA), the oldest and largest library
> association in the world, is a nonprofit organization of over 64,000
> librarians, library trustees, and other friends of libraries dedicated
> to the development, promotion, and improvement of library and
> information services to enhance learning and ensure access to
> information for all.
>
> The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), a division
> of the American Library Association, is a professional association of
> academic librarians and other interested individuals. ACRL currently
> has a membership of approximately 12,400, accounting for nearly 20% of
> the total ALA membership. ACRL provides a broad range of professional
> services and programs for a diverse membership.
>
> The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit
> organization of 124 research libraries in North America. ARL programs
> and services promote equitable access to and effective use of recorded
> knowledge in support of teaching, research, scholarship, and community
> service.
>
> The Medical Library Association (MLA) is a nonprofit, educational
> organization of more than 900 institutions and 3,800 individual
> members in the health sciences information field, committed to
> educating health information professionals, supporting health
> information research, promoting access to the world's health sciences
> information, and working to ensure that the best health information is
> available to all.
>
> SPARC (Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition) is an
> initiative of universities, research libraries, and library
> organizations that supports increased competition in scholarly
> publishing. SPARC publishing partnerships and educational activities
> encourage expanded dissemination of research and reduced financial
> pressure on libraries. Its worldwide membership currently includes
> 277 institutions and organizations, with 188 members in the United
> States.
>
> _______________________________________________
>
>
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  • [Community_studios] Re: [DMCA_Discuss] Libraries Talking to DOJ re Publisher Mergers, tom poe, 06/01/2003

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