I hate to be contrary, but in some ways this is a lower price. I never would have thought to print a law journal article under the old pricing mechanism. With their usual page counts, interlibrary loan courier charges were often cheaper. Now I don't even think twice. (Actually I now do my FIND commands through the web for even less.)
Of course, that still doesn't answer the question of paying full price to just get the first page. And doesn't LEXIS charge just $3 for the full text?
Just some thoughts.
--Jeff
Jeffrey J. Berns
Law Librarian
Birch, Stewart, Kolasch & Birch, LLP
8110 Gatehouse Road
Suite 500 East
P.O. Box 747
Falls Church, VA 22040-0747
U.S.A.
tel.: +1-703-205-8090 ext. 6118
fax: +1-703-205-8050
bernsj@bskb.com
http://www.bskb.com/
>>> Marie Erickson <MERICKSO@lasc.org> 9/18/98 4:23:37 PM >>>
LOWER the price?! What's wrong with the old-regime per-line charge
method?
>>> Nora Levine <noras@netcom.com> 09/18/98 01:44pm >>>
Dan Cunningham, the composer of yesterday's email re $5.00 / document
charges, and I work together. I've been reading the responses, and have
a couple of observations.
1/ Why do librarians have to find a work around? Why can't we argue
the
price should be lowered - a lesser cost for less information.
2/ Why use
another version of Westlaw, print a screen (and lose formatting) or
cut and paste, etc. Dan's Westlaw search required he retrieve over 200
cases. Most of the work arounds would have taken considerably more
time
than the batch mode print request does. The requesting attorney wanted
to review all first pages, and then decide which she wanted in full. That
method doubles the price of a case.
3/ Why not do step pricing - both lexis and westlaw. $ 1.00 for the
first page, $ 3.00 for .kw or term, $ 5.00 for the entire "document".
4/ I checked westlaw today - both 5.28 & 6.31 versions - for how
documents
are described on the offline print or print/download screens.
Neither
request screen makes clear that the first page of "all documents"
"selected documents" or "this document" is itself a document. I doubt
many users would intuit from the descriptions on those screens that that
first page, as well as the full text, costs $ 5.00.
The Westlaw subscriber agreement does not indicate that a first page
or term mode print is a document. Lexis' pricing summary does indicate
the
price is the same regardless of format.
5/ Yes, many firms have flat fee contracts, so you're not always
taking about "real dollars" - but clients are billed, and it's always best
to avoid charging them more than is necessary.
Nora Levine 510 466 6195/phone
Crosby, Heafey Roach & May 510 273 8898/fax
Oakland CA noras@netcom.com / nlevine@chrm.com
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