It has just come to my attention that Nature has “obtained” Scientific American.  Immediately arises concerns of access and subscription costs.  We currently access SA through EbscoHost.  Content may be pulled from this vendor.  From other institutions, I have heard as much as 145% increase for current subscription rates and a $5000 fee for archive access.  NPG base rates on FTE.  I must be realistic.  If our rate is increased to these levels, electronic access to SA may jeapordized. 

Here is the NPG announcement:

“2010 promises to be a landmark year for NPG, as we continue to build our consumer media division with Scientific American at its heart. Scientific American became part of NPG in 2009, after many years as a sister Holtzbrinck organization. My colleagues and I feel privileged to be able to offer our customers the two iconic brands of Nature and Scientific American. We are looking forward to introducing institutional site license access to Scientific American on nature.com later this year, offering the functionality, support, services and interlinking with the NPG portfolio that you have come to expect from us. As we move forward, our goal is to become the authoritative and comprehensive science media group, from consumer to researcher, from London to New York to Tokyo.”

Thursday (8/20)

DR. PAUL HALPERN. The University of the Sciences physics professor — and author of 11 popular science books, including, “What’s Science Ever Done for Us? What the Simpsons Can Teach Us About Physics,” “Robots Life, and the Universe” — discusses his newest book, “Collider: The Search for the World’s Smallest Particles,” in which he provides an accessible look at the hottest topic in physics and the experiment that will transform our understanding of the universe. University of Pennsylvania Bookstore, 6:00 PM, FREE