1. Publishers and online subscription models
Kaufman-Wills Group, LLC
Charleston Conference November 7, 2003

2. Overview Types of institutional subscription models
Examples of publishers using each model
Pros and cons from publisher perspective
Differences among commercial and non-profits
Decision-making considerations
Financial
Sales and marketing
Customer service and fulfillment
Future trends
Wellcome Trust scenarios
Author-led
Actual use

3. Types of subscription models
Bundled print and online
Unbundled
Bundled option
Online only
Print only (addl print)
Tiered pricing
Concurrent use
Number of seats
Workstation (1 IP, user name/password)
Size of institution
FTE
Relevant FTE
Type of institution
Carnegie Classification
Academic, government, corporate
Open access
Author/institutional paid
Society supported

4. Publisher examples Bundled print and online Size of institution
Unbundled
Concurrent users
Single simultaneous user,
Or site license
Size of institution
Carnegie
Type of institution
Open access
Institutional membership/author paid
Society supported

5. Pros and cons: publisher perspective
Bundled
Pros: Raise print price to cover online, maintains print, simple product pricing
Cons: Unresponsive to user needs, production costs for two formats
Unbundled
Pros: User demand, opens door for usage based pricing, print can be add-on
Cons: More complicated pricing, threat to advertising, difficult transition
Concurrent use
Pros: Can keep institution’s costs down, may equate to use
Cons: Not really tied to use, restricted access, difficult to administer
Size of institution
Pros: Starts to equate to usage, revenues offset personal and inst subscriptions
Cons: FTEs v relevant FTEs argument; difficult to determine tier, implement
Type of institution
Pros: Easier to identify than size, HighWire supported, “fit in with the pack”
Cons: Difficult to differentiate between tiers, hard to figure for inst outside of US
Open access
Pros: Open to experimentation, pro-institution, may attract more papers
Cons: Unproven financial return, author hardship to pay?, low citation impact

6. Decision-making considerations
Financial
Replace loss of subscriptions as individuals gain access through institutional site licenses
Replace loss of (multiple) print subscriptions as institutions purchase site-wide, desktop access
Sales and marketing
Easier to market print plus online features than online and print as separate products
Separate pricing, editorial development needed for specialty gateways, title collections
Personal sales needed for top tier, multi-site, and consortial license negotiation and sales
Customer service and fulfillment
No new systems required for bundled model
New fulfillment systems, customer service training needed for tiered models

7. Future trends Actual use… the beginnings or flashback to the past
To determine tiers: equating number of downloads for non-US institutions to equivalent downloads for US institutions
American Physical Society
BMJ (for 2005)
Institution, author-led
Author repositories: DSpace initiative (MIT)
SPARC, University of California initiative
Wellcome Trust scenarios
More of the same
Commercial withdrawal
Commercial publishers gain more control
Deposit libraries and open access become dominant

8. www.kaufmanwills.com Alma J. Wills, Partner Selected clients
Cara S. Kaufman, Partner
Kaufman-Wills Group, LLC
24 Aintree Road
Baltimore, MD 21286
(ph)
(fax)
Selected clients
Am Acad Ped
Am Assoc Immunologists
Am Coll Cardiology
Am Coll Radiology
American Psychiatric Assoc
Am Soc Clin Oncology
ASPET
ASTRO
Intl Anesthesia Res Soc
NEJM
Proj Hope/Hlth Affairs
Alma: former President, Periodicals Div, Williams & Wilkins
Cara: former Publisher, Am Heart Assoc journals, The Lancet