THE ISSUES COST OF JOURNALS COPYRIGHT ACADEMIC PROMOTION
THE RESPONSE PUBLISHING MODELS WHAT the U of ILLINOIS IS DOING WHAT YOU CAN DO
ARTICLE PLACEMENT SC NEWS LINKS

THE COST OF JOURNALS

ISSUES AT A GLANCE

• Between 1986 and 2004, journal expenditures of North American research libraries increased by a staggering 273%, with the average journal unit cost increasing by 188%. During this same period, the U.S. Consumer Price Index rose by 73%, meaning that journal costs have outstripped inflation by a factor of almost 4. View graph of book and journal costs, 1986-2004. [1]
• Find out the price (2004) of YOUR favorite journal, it's impact, and price increase (2002 vs. 2004). If you want current U.S. prices, see Ulrich's Periodicals Directory.
• Or, from Ted Bergstrom and Preston McAfee, use the Journal Cost-Effectiveness search engine to find internationally-published journals and rank them by price per article or citation. 2002 data | 2004-2006 data
• Here at U of Illinois, the average cost per title jumped 10% between 2003 and 2004 [2].
• While many university libraries face severe budget cuts, large commercial publishers in the academic journal market have enjoyed increasing profits. In 2002, for instance, revenue rose 26% and operating profit increased to 25% for Elsevier, the largest journal publisher in the science, technology, and medical field [3].
• On average, libraries pay 4 to 6 times as much per page for journals owned by commercial publishers as they do for journals owned by non-profit societies. [4]

BACKGROUND

Traditionally, scholars at research institutions have made their research available through a "gift exchange" arrangement, whereby they submit articles to publishers and serve on peer-review editorial boards with little or no expectation of personal financial gain, but with the implicit understanding that the publishers will provide the widest possible audience for their research. As outlined by Edwards and Shulenburger, "Beginning in the late 1960s and early '70s, this gift exchange began to break down. A few commercial publishers recognized that research generated at public expense and given freely for publication by the authors represented a commercially exploitable commodity" [5]. Prior to this breakdown, most journals were published by scholarly societies that charged enough for their journals to break even and fund society activities, but were essentially not-for-profit ventures. By contrast, the current academic journal market is dominated by a few very large multinational firms that have methodically bought up the top titles in various fields and steadily ratcheted up the prices for them. As Edwards and Shulenburger put it,

The old model operated on the basis of gift exchange to ensure wide distribution of what was readily acknowledged--indeed trumpeted--as clearly a public good. The new model operates for profit; it essentially says, "If you want access, pay up and we'll set the prices." [6]

As commercial publishers came to dominate academic publishing, North American research libraries faced an average annual increase of 8.5% in journal prices between 1986 and 2001 [7]. The book and journal costs chart shows a drop in the average journal unit cost between 2000 and 2001. While this may appear to be a salutary development, it actually reflects a trend that is deeply troubling to many university librarians: bundling. This trend, also called "the big deal," entails publishers offering libraries packages of titles, as opposed to the traditional single-title-subscription model. While such bundling deals often mean that libraries pay less, on average, per title, it also means that libraries are often forced into subscribing to less-popular titles in order to gain access to the more heavily used journals in the bundle. It takes away one of the libraries most important responsibilities: tailoring its collection to its users' needs.

SAYING "ENOUGH!": UNIVERSITIES AND SCHOLARS RESPOND

Faced with ever-increasing journal prices and dwindling budgets, universities are being forced to take action. In 2003, Cornell cancelled its subscriptions to more than 200 Elsevier journals [8]. The University of Wisconsin-Madison has withdrawn from the Big Deal [9]. Scholars are also taking action. In 2003, researchers at the University of California-San Francisco called upon their colleagues throughout the world to boycott the journals published by the Cell Press (owned by Elsevier) after the publisher asked the University of California for $90,000 in annual fees for continued access to the six Cell Press titles--this in addition to the $8 million that the university already paid Elsevier annually for online journal subscriptions [10]. As another example, in January 2004, the entire editorial board of Elsevier's Journal of Algorithms resigned in protest of the publishers' pricing policies, and went on to begin publishing a competing journal, ACM Transactions on Algorithms, in partnership with the Association for Computing Machinery [11].

EFFECT AT U of Illinois

The University Library is facing these increasing journal subscription costs at the same time as it deals with serious budget cuts. In January 2004, the library cancelled its subscriptions to many Elsevier journals (view list of cancellations from 2000 to the present). We have developed collaborative arrangements with our sister universities in the Illinois system and in the CIC to ensure the broadest and easiest possible access to journals, but if subscription prices continue to escalate, the university will be forced to continue canceling titles.

In March, 2003, the U of Illinois University Senate passed a resolution recommending that:

• the Library and the faculty work to reduce costs of journals by communicating concerns to publishers,
• the Senate engage faculty in debate on this issue in order to encourage the faculty to facilitate such communication,
• the University encourage alternative publishing models, especially electronic publishing,
• the Senate consider the implications of electronic communication to the promotion and tenure process,
• the Senate endorse the Tempe Principles.

FIND OUT MORE

• View graph of book and journal costs, 1986-2004. [1]
• Find out the price (2004) of YOUR favorite journal, it's impact, and price increase (2002 vs. 2004).
• From Ted Bergstrom and Preston McAfee, use the Journal Cost-Effectiveness search engine to find internationally-published journals and rank them by price per article or citation. 2002 data | 2004-2006 data
• Periodicals Price Survey: The Library Journal publishes this annual overview of journal price trends. A good summary of the issues across different academic fields.
• University Actions Against High Journal Costs: Peter Suber has compiled an extensive list of measures taken by various universities to fight high journal costs.
• Sticker Shock: Did you know that, for the cost of a year's subscription to the Journal of Applied Polymer Science, you could get a well-equipped new Toyota Corolla? This and other hair-raising comparisons are available at Cornell's online journal cost exhibit.
• Ulrich International Periodicals Directory: Find out how much your favorite journals cost. (Look at the "institutional" cost. Note: frequently there is an additional cost for electronic access.)