Kluwer has only seen a small decrease in its print journal subscriptions since beginning to offer the electronic version according to Chesler. He said that the company has no plans to move exclusively to electronic publication for its journals in the immediate future.
Because the electronic versions of journals can become available as soon as they are finalized, instead of having to wait to be printed and mailed, Chesler said they are typically available two to eight weeks before the print versions arrive in subscribers’ postal mailboxes.
Harvard’s contract with Kluwer is part of a larger contract negotiated between the company and the Northeast Research Libraries Consortium (NERL).
The consortium, made up of the libraries of all Ivy League schools and several other elite universities, attempts to achieve cost reductions in electronic library acquisitions for member institutions.
—Staff writer Daniel P. Mosteller can be reached at dmostell@fas.harvard.edu.