This article penned by Joe Hodnicki of US base Law Librarian Blog? is more than required reading, it’s compulsory. Entitled ” Feasting on the Carcass: The push by TR Legal to pitch new titles as “ancillary” in the Shed West Era”
Here’s the introduction that highlights West’s new philosophy of individual marketing plans for publications.. purely designed to improve their profit line.
Be worried … be very worried, as Hodnicki and Vicki Szymczak (Brooklyn Law School Library Director) highlight this new plan from TR West to up their margins
Full article at: http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/law_librarian_blog/2010/09/tr-legal-to-pitch-new-titles-ancillary.html
Recently LLB contributing editor, Vicki Szymczak (Brooklyn Law School Library Director) broke the story that there is a new game afoot from TR Legal. She titled the post, New Publication Model for West. I would have called it “Oh Boy, a New Pricing Scheme for New Titles Published by the Folks in the Land of 10,000 Invoices.” Or maybe I would have called it “Feasting on the Carcass: The Push by TR Legal to Pitch New Titles as Ancillary in the Shed West Era.” Oh, wait, that’s what I’m calling this post. While blog posts tend to have a half-life of 24 hours, Vicki’s deserves much more attention from institutional buyers. I will try to add a little perspective on this new marketing scheme in this post.
Two snips from Vicki’s post but her entire post really does requires your undivided attention:
Mr. Cahill to give me a call to explain why we do not have access to this new series of ALRs, and the ‘why’ has to do with how West intends to roll out new titles.? As he explained to me, ALR-INT represents a new way to do business at West.? This title is, what he called, an ancillary title.? This means that currently it is available online only on commercial accounts and only on a per search charge basis.
…
In order to help protect the profit margin at West (ahem) due to the unprecedented shredding-shedding -? of West materials at libraries, Mr. Cahill informed me that new products will all have an individual market plan.? The market plan will take into consideration how West will make a profit off the title.? If you buy both online and print, you will receive some sort of discount.? But, you will not get a two for one.? If you buy just the print, you won’t get the online.? And if you buy online, you won’t get the print.? However, if you buy both, you will get a discount.? I thought that this is what I was doing when I bought ALR-INT.? But apparently, I wasn’t.? This part of the explanation at least rings true.? They need to make up the money that they are losing, and this is how they are going to do it.
Well, TR Legal can try.