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The article reports on an October 2009 conference held in Paris, France, on the theme "Scientific Journals. The Current Situation and Prospects." The focus of discussion was the increasing "flood" of scholarly journal articles, convention summaries, and festschriften, whose subscriptions can no longer be financially sustained by libraries and academic institutions. Questions were explored on the repositioning, reconfiguring, and financing of subscriptions to such publications by publishers, editors, and institutions promoting such French and German language journals.

The article reports on a March 2007 conference organized by the German Librarians Association's Group on Acquisitions and Holdings and focussed on the theme of national licenses. Talks were given on the nationwide digital maintenance of information for scientists and students, the costs of journal subscriptions, and the limitations of Google.

An introduction is presented in which the editors discuss the double issue in August 2010 and ask their subscribers to update them with their newest contact information before that issue is released in order to save on time and postage.