3.873 MLA bibliography, cont. (155)
Willard McCarty (MCCARTY@vm.epas.utoronto.ca)
Wed, 20 Dec 89 21:45:48 EST
Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 3, No. 873. Wednesday, 20 Dec 1989.
(1) Date: Tue, 19 Dec 89 23:38:19 EST (12 lines)
From: bobh@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Robert Hollander)
Subject: Re: 3.871 MLA bibliography, cont. (102)
(2) Date: Tue, 19 Dec 89 23:43 EST (13 lines)
From: Michel LENOBLE <LENOBLEM@UMTLVR.BITNET>
Subject: MLA and downloading
(3) Date: Wed, 20 Dec 89 10:29:00 EST (37 lines)
From: MLAOD@CUVMB
Subject: MLA Bibliography
(4) Date: Wed, 20 Dec 89 09:54 CST (23 lines)
From: A10PRR1@NIU
Subject: MLA Bibliography
(5) Date: Wed, 20 Dec 89 21:17:34 EST (43 lines)
From: John_Price-Wilkin@ub.cc.umich.edu
Subject: 3.871 MLA bibliography, cont. (102)
(1) --------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 19 Dec 89 23:38:19 EST
From: bobh@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Robert Hollander)
Subject: Re: 3.871 MLA bibliography, cont. (102)
Not that I expect miracles, but I would like to report that I did
speak with Victor Brombert, outgoing president of MLA, just a few
hours ago, and told him that the remarkable pricing strategy of
MLA was gaining the hostile notice it deserves on HUMANIST. As
a former member of MLA (who left over policies I consider even more
outrageous) I cannot enjoy the pleasure of resigning because of
this particular misguided policy, but would otherwise surely
consider doing so. Merry Christmas, Robert Hollander
(2) --------------------------------------------------------------19----
Date: Tue, 19 Dec 89 23:43 EST
From: Michel LENOBLE <LENOBLEM@UMTLVR.BITNET>
Subject: MLA and downloading
Our library has acquired some times ago the MLA CD-ROM bibliography
which operates with the winston retieval package. Does anyone know
whether it is possible to download the results of a search on a floppy
disk instead of having it printed?
Michel Lenoble
Litterature Comparee
Universite de Montreal
E-mail: lenoblem@cc.umontreal.ca
(3) --------------------------------------------------------------40----
Date: Wed, 20 Dec 89 10:29:00 EST
From: MLAOD@CUVMB
Subject: MLA Bibliography
David of Dartmouth has raised a valid point regarding the cost of the MLA
Bibliography on tape. While the actual cost for Dartmouth will be only a
very small fraction of the ONE MILLION DOLLARS he calculates, it's true
that the yearly cost, and the hardware/software requirements, will put
these tapes out of the reach of some institutions. That's why we
continue to produce the date on compact disk, and online through Dialog
Information Services, and online through Wilsonline, and in printed
hardcover, and in printed softcover. We also sell individual chapters
of the Bibliography (the Folklore Section, for example) in paperback,
with a further discount for MLA members (annual membership fees begin at
$10). If this still puts the information beyond your reach, well, call
me and I'll have an MLA staff member perform the database search for you
and mail you the results.
David, I understand from the Kathy Klemperer, Director of Library
Automation at Dartmouth, that Medline and Grolier's Academic American
Encyclopedia have already been mounted on your network, and that there is
already a user interface to BRS search software in place. It seems,
then, that the "raw data" you decry is actually all Dartmouth needs,
technologically speaking, to get the MLA Bibliography up and running on
your network. In fact, Ms. Klemperer has offered to contract with the
MLA to produce BRS-format files from Bibliography data, an offer that
interests us very much, since it would be an aid to other BRS-based
institutions.
For MLA members who wish to take a more active role in the perfection and
destiny of the Bibliography, please note that there is a standing
committee, the MLA Bibliography Advisory Committee, upon which you may
serve. The current chair is James L. Harner, Texas A&M University,
College Station, Texas 77843.
Daniel Uchitelle<MLAOD@CUVMB>
Modern Language Association
(4) --------------------------------------------------------------28----
Date: Wed, 20 Dec 89 09:54 CST
From: A10PRR1@NIU
Subject: MLA Bibliography
Why are people so surprised at the cost of the MLA bibliography? Hasn't
anyone noticed how much MLA charges for its hard-copy publications? I
haven't looked recently, but a year or two ago they were getting $5.00
for some of their pamphlets and $15.00 or more for their small
paperbacks. The paperback version of the little Williams/Abbott Intro
to Bibliographical Studies is selling for $17.50. H. W. Wilson can
justify the charges for their bibliography; they are a business, and the
point of a business is to make money. But the MLA, as we were recently
reminded by MLAOD@CUVMB, "is a non-profit organization" whose "programs
and activities are designed to maximize services to members". Isn't
there a character (in Steinbeck?) who tells a story about "service" that
ends: "So whenever I hear someone talk about service I always wonder
who's getting screwed"?
(5) --------------------------------------------------------------51----
Date: Wed, 20 Dec 89 21:17:34 EST
From: John_Price-Wilkin@ub.cc.umich.edu
Subject: 3.871 MLA bibliography, cont. (102)
Several times we've seen argued costs of tape products compared to costs
of CD-ROM products and supporting equipment, as if the cost of a tape
license alone were directly comparable to the cost of the CD-ROM
subscription and the necessary equipment. I'm not going to argue here
the economics of information pricing, but I need to throw in some
figures that will emphasize the lack of comparability in products.
First of all, the tape alone does not make a database. In order to load
records so that they can be used with the dbms of choice, a great deal
of programming needs to be done. Some tapeloading programs are sold
with dbms like NOTIS. Costs for a tapeloading program are estimated to
be more than triple the cost Wilson charges for a CD-ROM workstation.
Another factor in the cost of a database leased on tape is the cost of
storage. The disk space for a large file from the Wilson company can be
as much as $5000, or something like the cost of the CD-ROM workstation.
Unlike the CD-ROM workstation, more disk space needs to be provided as
the database grows. There are, of course, real operating costs as well.
A library or computing center doesn't simply have programmers and
support staff twiddling their thumbs waiting for another MLA
Bibliography to come along. This too is real cost that is not found
with CD-ROM products.
After spending considerable time talking to vendors for the past year
and a half, I can say that pricing is all over the board. The most
unreasonable pricing comes from some of the scientific database
producers, who want to charge using a model based on their dealings with
the commercial enterprises (e.g., Dialog and BRS). There are many
others who are uncomfortable about establishing prices and who are
looking to the market for cues, and I suspect this is the case with MLA.
On the other hand, there is the producer of another large humanities
database who is prepared to offer its database at twice the annual cost
of its print product or, for an institution the size of the Univ. of
Michigan, about half the price quoted for MLA Bibliography.
Incidentally, this price also includes a subscription to the print index
as well. (I hope I'll be prepared to share more information about this
arrangement soon.) For them, as for us, the issue is access.