ACS announces new pricing model for electronic journals

["Adam Chesler" <a_chesler@acs.org>]

American Chemical Society announces new value-based pricing for 
journals

WASHINGTON, March 27 -- The Publications Division of the American 
Chemical Society (ACS) today announced new electronic journal 
pricing policies for the 2008 subscription year. These new 
subscription models were developed in consultation with customers 
and reflect a tradition of publishing innovation, excellence and 
value. The models are based on four main pillars:  establishing 
fairness, encouraging participation and use, minimizing 
disruption, and broadening access.

Robert D. Bovenschulte, President of ACS Publications, commented: 
"We are extremely proud of the exceptional value ACS journals 
have long provided to our customers. With this new pricing model, 
ACS has responded to customer requests for a new approach that 
makes sense in today's online world. It allows us to treat 
customers equitably within each group, encourage usage of our 
journal content, offer flexibility to help customers migrate with 
a minimum of disruption, and provide a strategy for the future to 
continue broadening worldwide access."

To account for unique characteristics within different customer 
groups, customized pricing plans built upon feedback from 
subscribers were established for four major library 
types<domestic academic, international academic, corporate, and 
government. Each plan assigns customers to specific tiers using 
objective, relevant criteria, to ensure that like customers pay 
like amounts for their subscriptions. During the spring and 
summer of 2007, ACS will be contacting customers to review the 
new plan and work with them to ensure a smooth transition.

A unique component of the new model is the way it de-couples the 
prices of the print and electronic versions of each journal. The 
model will utilize value-based metrics such as number of articles 
published, ISI impact factor, and total downloads to establish 
prices for the electronic versions of each ACS journal. By 
incorporating these factors, the significant advantages gained by 
ACS subscribers <including low prices per page, per use, and per 
citation <will be better reflected in the subscription rate of 
each publication. Another advantage of separating electronic and 
print prices is that customers will be able to eliminate 
duplicate print subscriptions from their collections.

Susan Cardinal, Chemistry Librarian at Carlson Science and 
Engineering Library at the University of Rochester, commented: 
"I'm glad that ACS will be separating the print pricing from the 
electronic pricing. The tiered pricing acknowledges differences 
in library budgets. Thanks for listening to us!"

The American Chemical Society -- the world's largest scientific 
society -- is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. 
Congress and a global leader in providing access to 
chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, 
peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main 
offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

The ACS Publications Division currently publishes 35 leading 
peer-reviewed journals in the chemical and related sciences (ACS 
journals rank first in citations and/or ISI impact factor in 
seven ISI core chemistry categories -- as well as in seven 
additional ISI categories ranging from agriculture to polymer 
science, including the new category of nanoscience and 
nanotechnology), including the Journal of the American Chemical 
Society, as well as Chemical & Engineering News, the Society's 
weekly news magazine.

(Note:  A web site providing additional information is located at 
http://pubs.acs.org/valuebasedpricing.)

**********************************************************
Adam Chesler
Assistant Director, Library Relations and Customer Service
American Chemical Society
1155 16th Street NW
Washington, DC 20036

Office Telephone:  (202) 872-6183
Mobile Telephone:  (617) 230-3201
Fax:  (202) 872-6005
E-Mail:  a_chesler@acs.org
http://pubs.acs.org