Transfer From Print to Electronic Serials

Abstract

Comparing the average cost per download for electronic journal packages to the average Interlibrary Loan cost can be both grossly inaccurate and wildly misleading. If forces one to accept the following assumptions: 1) aggregate online use can be compared with print use, 2) all journals cost the same and are used the same, and 3) the set of journals requested by Interlibrary Loan are similar to the set of journals subscribed by a library. This letter to the editor refutes each of these assumptions.