Consortial Access versus Ownership.

This paper reports on a consortial attempt to overcome the high costs of scholarly journals and to study the roots of the cost problem. A multi-discipline study of the impact of electronic publishing on the pricing of scholarly periodicals is discussed. A brief overview of the pricing issue comparing print and electronic publishing is followed by a summary of the access approach to cost containment technique. This is then followed by a preliminary report on an attempt at this technique by a consortium and on the associated econometric study. This 3-year study is collecting data on approximately 6,000 journal titles gathered from the combined subscription lists of the 13 Associated Colleges of the South (ACS) libraries. The study includes analysis directed at testing the viability of consortial access versus ownership as well as the potential long-term solution that would derive from emergence of a new core of electronic titles. A complete financial analysis of the impact of consortial, electronic access to a core collection of general purpose periodicals as well as an econometric analysis of the impact of electronic availability on pricing policy will issue from the study conducted under an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation grant. Contains 42 references. (AEF)