RE: Print-Only Subscription Trend

["Elizabeth R Lorbeer" <lorbeer@uab.edu>]

Kimberly,

There are several possibilities why your institutional customers 
are choosing print only subscriptions.  As a customer of EBSCO, I 
am alerted to the different format options available.  Normally 
the agent will ask the customer its preference, however it is 
possible to request a default of print only.

Just looking at the titles that the University Press offers 
(mainly humanities and social sciences) often those journals are 
requested by faculty to maintain in print.  However, from my 
experience, libraries tend to stay with print if the publisher 
does not offer an electronic archive policy, non-negotiable 
licensing terms, or the electronic version is missing content 
(i.e. letters, articles, abstracts, etc.). Pricing could be an 
issue, but you'd have to survey your customers.  It appears to me 
that print vs. electronic-only pricing at your press is about the 
same.

Hope you find this useful.

Sincerely,
Liz Lorbeer
University of Alabama Birmingham