Re: Effect of free access on subscription revenues

From: Jim Till <till_at_UHNRES.UTORONTO.CA>
Date: Tue, 3 Oct 2000 08:01:40 -0400

On Mon, 2 Oct 2000, David Siu wrote [in part]:

> It strikes me as being slightly irrational for a library to pay for
> what it could get for free. Do you think a library might do this because
> being online increases reader demand for the print journal? Are people
> finding out about articles they might want to read online and then going to
> read the print version? If this is the case might it be attributed to
> reading habits (a preference for print) that might wane as people habituate
> themselves to reading online (even more so than they have today?)

If the printed version of the journal is available for free at one's local
university library, but only the table of contents and the abstracts are
available for free online, then the online version would be expected to
increase reader demand for the printed version. It's a strategy that will
appeal to publishers, but not to readers.

Jim Till
University of Toronto
Received on Mon Jan 24 2000 - 19:17:43 GMT