Skip to content
ADVERTISEMENT
Sign In
  • Sections
    • News
    • Advice
    • The Review
  • Topics
    • Data
    • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
    • Finance & Operations
    • International
    • Leadership & Governance
    • Teaching & Learning
    • Scholarship & Research
    • Student Success
    • Technology
    • Transitions
    • The Workplace
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Special Issues
    • Podcast: College Matters from The Chronicle
  • Newsletters
  • Virtual Events
  • Ask Chron
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Professional Development
    • Career Resources
    • Virtual Career Fair
  • More
  • Sections
    • News
    • Advice
    • The Review
  • Topics
    • Data
    • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
    • Finance & Operations
    • International
    • Leadership & Governance
    • Teaching & Learning
    • Scholarship & Research
    • Student Success
    • Technology
    • Transitions
    • The Workplace
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Special Issues
    • Podcast: College Matters from The Chronicle
  • Newsletters
  • Virtual Events
  • Ask Chron
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Professional Development
    • Career Resources
    • Virtual Career Fair
    Upcoming Events:
    An AI-Driven Work Force
    University Transformation: a Global Leadership Perspective
Sign In
News

College Library Directors Protest Huge Jump in ‘Scientific American’ Price

By Jennifer Howard October 13, 2009

A group of 50 library directors has sent a letter to the managing director of the Nature Publishing Group, protesting a huge increase in the price of institutional subscriptions to Scientific American. Among the signers of the letter are the head librarians at liberal-arts colleges including Amherst, Bowdoin, Bucknell, Carleton, Colgate, Denison, Franklin & Marshall, Haverford, Kenyon, Oberlin, Rollins, Vassar, and Washington and Lee.

To continue reading for FREE, please sign in.

Sign In

Or subscribe now to read with unlimited access for as low as $10/month.

Don’t have an account? Sign up now.

A free account provides you access to a limited number of free articles each month, plus newsletters, job postings, salary data, and exclusive store discounts.

Sign Up

A group of 50 library directors has sent a letter to the managing director of the Nature Publishing Group, protesting a huge increase in the price of institutional subscriptions to Scientific American. Among the signers of the letter are the head librarians at liberal-arts colleges including Amherst, Bowdoin, Bucknell, Carleton, Colgate, Denison, Franklin & Marshall, Haverford, Kenyon, Oberlin, Rollins, Vassar, and Washington and Lee.

Scientific American is probably the nation’s most venerable source of science news written for a general audience. The Nature group, which took over the magazine this year, proposes to charge $299 for a 2010 print subscription—up from $39.95—and as much as $1,500 for an annual license for online access—up from $1,000—depending on how big the institution is.

The libraries’ directors called the increase “unreasonable” and said that it “hinders our ability to meet the information needs of our library users.” They complained that the announcement was made as many libraries were finalizing their budgets for the year, which gave them little time to poll users and decide whether to cut Scientific American. They pointed out that the price increase comes during a painful recession, when most libraries are looking to cut items from their budgets and are asking publishers to keep subscription prices steady or lower them. And they warned the publishing group that its actions “are likely to result in many libraries canceling subscriptions, thus threatening the future of a historically important magazine.”

The directors also said that the publisher’s decision failed to take into account the role that Scientific American plays in libraries. It is not “a core scholarly journal,” they said, but a vehicle for more general dissemination of scientific findings, and should be priced accordingly. “While we understand that all publications need to be financially viable, such a dramatic increase at the present time indicates that short-sighted commercial interests have overturned Scientific American‘s traditional mission of disseminating scientific knowledge to its broad readership,” the directors said.

A spokesperson for the Nature group told Library Journal that the publisher wanted to consult with its customers before commenting on the directors’ letter. “In order to continue publishing at the highest level of scientific journalism, Scientific American must price its content at sustainable levels,” the group said in a separate statement also quoted by Library Journal. “Pricing for institutional print subscriptions had been static for years, and did not reflect the size of institution. We have now revised prices for institutional print subscriptions, based on the type of institution, and to take into account anticipated readership based on the number of faculty and students. This brings Scientific American in line with the institutional pricing model adopted by” other scientific, technical, and medical publishers, the statement said.

We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
Tags
Scholarship & Research Libraries
Share
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Email
About the Author
Jennifer Howard
Jennifer Howard, who began writing for The Chronicle in 2005, covered publishing, scholarly communication, libraries, archives, digital humanities, humanities research, and technology.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

More News

Illustration of a magnifying glass highlighting the phrase "including the requirements set forth in Presidential Executive Order 14168 titled Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government."
Policy 'Whiplash'
Research Grants Increasingly Require Compliance With Trump’s Orders. Here’s How Colleges Are Responding.
Photo illustration showing internal email text snippets over a photo of a University of Iowa campus quad
Red-state reticence
Facing Research Cuts, Officials at U. of Iowa Spoke of a ‘Limited Ability to Publicly Fight This’
Photo illustration showing Santa Ono seated, places small in the corner of a dark space
'Unrelentingly Sad'
Santa Ono Wanted a Presidency. He Became a Pariah.
Illustration of a rushing crowd carrying HSI letters
Seeking precedent
Funding for Hispanic-Serving Institutions Is Discriminatory and Unconstitutional, Lawsuit Argues

From The Review

Football game between UCLA and Colorado University, at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colo., Sept. 24, 2022.
The Review | Opinion
My University Values Football More Than Education
By Sigman Byrd
Photo- and type-based illustration depicting the acronym AAUP with the second A as the arrow of a compass and facing not north but southeast.
The Review | Essay
The Unraveling of the AAUP
By Matthew W. Finkin
Photo-based illustration of the Capitol building dome propped on a stick attached to a string, like a trap.
The Review | Opinion
Colleges Can’t Trust the Federal Government. What Now?
By Brian Rosenberg

Upcoming Events

Plain_Acuity_DurableSkills_VF.png
Why Employers Value ‘Durable’ Skills
Warwick_Leadership_Javi.png
University Transformation: a Global Leadership Perspective
Lead With Insight
  • Explore Content
    • Latest News
    • Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Professional Development
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Chronicle Intelligence
    • Jobs in Higher Education
    • Post a Job
  • Know The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • Vision, Mission, Values
    • DEI at The Chronicle
    • Write for Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • Our Reporting Process
    • Advertise With Us
    • Brand Studio
    • Accessibility Statement
  • Account and Access
    • Manage Your Account
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Group and Institutional Access
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
  • Get Support
    • Contact Us
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • User Agreement
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037
© 2025 The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Chronicle of Higher Education is academe’s most trusted resource for independent journalism, career development, and forward-looking intelligence. Our readers lead, teach, learn, and innovate with insights from The Chronicle.
Follow Us
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • youtube
  • facebook
  • linkedin