including a journal in digital collections like ProQuest

[Michael Denner]

Dear Colleagues,

I'm considering including the content of the Tolstoy Studies Journal in
a digital database, probably ProQuest (the newest instantiation of the
venerable UMI). The Journal will always, at least so far as I am
concerned, remain primarily a print medium. 

 

There are, however, obvious benefits to making the content additionally
available through one or more of the digital databases that most
colleges and universities now subscribe to: Primarily, it will greatly
increase the Journal's reach. The mission of the Journal is to advance
and expand scholarship devoted to Tolstoy, and adding our content to a
digital database seems to fit squarely within that mission. 

 

We have an excellent (and, from a financial perspective, adequate)
international subscription base among tolstoveds and large research
libraries (built over the decades by several devoted and capable
business managers). It is, however, a relatively small number. Most
smaller university libraries do not subscribe. (Stetson, for instance,
did not subscribe until I became the editor.)  Providing the Journal's
content through a digital database like ProQuest would, of course,
substantially increase our potential readership. There is an incremental
revenue stream from the service - they pay an honorarium every time an
article is accessed. (There are no costs on our side to joining the
database - they digitize and do all the markup.)

 

However, I'm concerned about undercutting our subscription base. Will
universities and individuals cease subscribing to the Journal if the
content becomes available online? At Stetson, for instance, we recently
decided to drop one of our (very expensive) subscriptions to a
social-science Russian Studies journal, largely because we knew we could
access the material online. 

 

(It should be added that the finances of small academic journals are
curious: Since virtually all the work is done pro bono or supported by
affiliated academic institutions, our only costs are (roughly speaking)
the production and distribution of the paper copies. The per unit
"profit" on each copy is very small. Essentially, income from
subscriptions is spent entirely on the printing and distribution of the
journal, with institutional subscribers in effect substantially
subsidizing individual subscribers. There are very few economies of
scale at work: Our print runs are sufficiently low that a few score
extra or fewer copies would not affect the per-unit cost of production.
It is therefore entirely feasible that the loss of some subscribers
would have little net effect on the journal's finances. However, the
loss of a substantial number (say 25%) of subscriptions due to the
inclusion in the database would be significant.)

 

Being an editor is largely a by-the-seat-of-your-pants proposition.
Furthermore, I think of the Journal as a community resource, and
SEELANGS is a pretty representative sampling of our readership.
Therefore, I'd appreciate any input from the community: I wonder if
anyone out there in the field has experience with such things? Or strong
opinions about it? I'd appreciate (off list) any advice, opinion,
wisdom, etc. 

 

Best,

mad

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
   Dr. Michael A. Denner
   Editor, Tolstoy Studies Journal
   Director, University Honors Program

   
   Contact Information:
      Russian Studies Program
      Stetson University
      Campus Box 8361
      DeLand, FL 32720-3756
      386.822.7381 (department)
      386.822.7265 (direct line)
      386.822.7380 (fax)

      www.stetson.edu/~mdenner

 


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