Subscriptions: Why we must charge for Sociological Research Online

The cost of running Sociological Research Online was borne by external funding from the eLib Programme until August 1998. The period of eLib funding has now ended and the journal has to earn money in order to continue. This note summarises what we doing and requests your comments, suggestions and support.

The UK Electronic Libraries programme (eLib) funded the setting up of Sociological Research Online as a experiment, partly to allow the explorartion of new models of publishing. This was for three years (which came to an end in August 1998). After that, the journal is on its own, to raise money sufficient to survive - or to die.

Why does running an electronic journal need any money? After all, there are no costs for printing or for distribution. The primary cost is paying for the 'backroom' services of copy-editing, massaging articles into the standard SocResOnline format, arrang ing for referees' reports, sending out books for review and so on. This is skilled administrative work and we cannot impose on academics to do it and, if we did, it would not be done well. The journal needs to employ an editorial assistant to do this work. In addition, editing a journal like Sociological Research Online is a substantial task and it's only fair for the editor's department to receive some compensation for the time it takes. Then in addition there are the incidental expenses: postage, telephone, stationery etc.

Without eLib support after August 1998, we need to find a way of obtaining a reliable income. At the same time, the journal needs to continue to be accessible and affordable to its readership all across the world. How to achieve this has been the major co ncern of the journal's Management Board for the past year.

We have started charging a subscription to institutions from August 1998. A subscription (set at £126 plus tax where applicable) will give everyone accessing the journal through the subscribing institution free entry to the journal and its archive of past issues.

We also aim to allow FREE access to people coming in from Internet Service Providers rather than from institutional networks. If you access the Internet through a provider via a modem, then email Catherine Ternent from that account to ensure free access.

What are the consequences of this policy? For most readers, who are used to accessing the journal through a University network, after August 1998 this will only be possible if your University has paid its subscription. In many institutions, this will be arranged through the University Library, who will subscribe in just the same way as they subscribe to a conventional paper journal (and we have arranged for subscriptions to be payable through your Library's regular subscription agencies).

Of course, if your Library is unwilling to take out a subscription, it is also possible for a department or even a lone scholar to do so. Wherever the money comes from, a subscription will entitle everyone within the institution to free access (an 'institution' is defined by its internet address.^[1]

If your institution is unable to purchase a subscription and you cannot buy one on its behalf, you still have the option of accessing the journal without charge through one of the Internet Service Providers.

Thank you for reading through this and for your support of the journal. What we would like you to do now is:

1. Send us your comments and suggestions. Is the scheme we are proposing workable? Do you have better ideas for securing a regular income?
2. Start lobbying your Librarian NOW to buy a subscription to Sociological Research Online if it does not already have one.

Nigel Gilbert
Chair, Management Board, Sociological Research Online

¹ Technically, a subscription will be provide access to all computers sharing a Class B network address. For example, if a subscription is paid for by the institution using the network 131.227, any computer with an IP address of the form 131.227.xxx.yyy will be allowed access.