Paul Mitchell writes:
> We are in the process of negotiating our 1994 subscriptions with
> Matthew Bender. It seems to me that this new "subscription plan"
> is basically a fire sale -- they're obviously (apparently) trying
> to raise cash.
>
> Our management has concerns about this: mainly, what guarantee do
> we have that they will continue to supply us with the same amount
> of updates in a given "subscription period" as they already have
> been; secondly, we are not sure about forking over thousands of
> dollars with nothing to show for it except a "promise".
>
Actually, as a former Bender publications manager, I don't think they
are trying to raise cash so much as prevent further erosion of their
subscription lists, which have declined seriously in recent years.
Also, I am less concerned about receiving the "same amount" of
updates as I am about receiving only the number of updates that are
necessary for a given publication at a fair price. Before the recent
shakeup, Bender's strategy was to make profits by not only raising
the price of individual update releases, but also to increase the
number of update releases per year for every publication. Many of
their publictions that have three or more update releases per year
could get by fine on just one, without sacrificing much in the way of
providing timely information.
**********************************************************************
Jason Levine Internet: 8levine@jmls.edu
Reference Librarian Phone: (312) 427-2737 x551
John Marshall Law School Fax: (312) 427-8307
Chicago, IL 60604
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