Re: American Society for Microbiology

[David Goodman <dgoodman@princeton.edu>]

I have also been in communication with them also.  As I have confirmed in
extensive correspondence with their Director, Journals, Linda Illig
<Illig@asmusa.org>, the license does not even include access in all of a
single building, except for the actual library. This is not an oversight
or awkward wording, but intentional.  For the complete license, see:

  http://www.journals.asm.org/subscriptions/sitelicense.shtml

Since, as I and the faculty here see it, the key benefit of electronic
journals is their greater availability, we are also not paying the 30%
premium they are charging, though we certainly would pay it for at least
some of their journals if they provided the usual campus-wide access.  
The faculty here, including the editor in chief of one of their journals,
 are also involved in correspondence with them. 

I have not seen a definition as restrictive as this elsewhere. All other
scholarly scientific organizations have more liberal terms for
institutional subscribers (I summarize, and am not specifying details) :

AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS  has the electronic versions free with print,
unlimited campus-wide use and dial in access from off campus.

AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY  has the electronic versions for a surcharge,
unlimited campus-uide use and dial in access from off campus. 

AMERICAN MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY has the electronic versions free with print,
unlimited campus-wide use and dial in access from off campus

AMERICAN PHYSIOLOGICAL SOCIETY has the electronic versions free with print,
unlimited campus-wide use and dial in access from off campus

AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR CELL BIOLOGY has the electronic versions free with print,
unlimited campus-wide use and dial in access from off campus

AMERICAN SOCIETY OF BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY has the electronic versions for a 
surcharge, unlimited campus-wide use and dial in access from off campus. 

ASSOCIATION FOR COMPUTING MACHINERY has the electronic versions in a package
with print, unlimited campus-wide use and dial in access from off campus.

INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS has the electronic versions free with print, unlimited
campus-wide use and dial in access from off campus.

OPTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA has the electronic versions in a package with
print, unlimited campus-wide use and dial in access from off campus.

SOCIETY FOR INDUSTRIAL AND APPLIED MATHEMATICS has the electronic versions
free with print, unlimited campus-wide use and dial in access from off campus.

The ASM's reply to this list is that 
>All societies are not the same. 

David Goodman
Biology Librarian, Princeton University Library
dgoodman@princeton.edu         http://www.princeton.edu/~biolib/
phone: 609-258-3235            fax: 609-258-2627

_________________

David S. Crawford wrote:
> 
> Do other libraries find the proposed American Society for Microbiology
> licence rather strange?
> 
> The ASM restricts the licence to a BUILDING, charging extra fees for extra
> buildings.  At McGill we have a general policy of offering all
> library-purchased e-titles to all users and the costs of covering all our
> buildings would be far too high.  McGill's IP addresses are not strictly
> linked to a building, so even if we wanted to do this we would find it
> difficult.
> 
> Due to the ASM rules McGill will not be subscribing to their, very useful,
> e-journals and Faculty members here who are ASM members are lobbying their
> Executive.
> 
> Any comments or other ideas?
> 
> David S. Crawford
> Health Sciences Librarian
> McGill University
> Montreal,  CANADA