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Academic publishers have stressed they are committed to helping librarians through budget reductions amid fears over declining resources.
The Wall Street Journal reports on a recent letter from the trade body Research Libraries UK that warned if journal subscriptions don't come down, librarians "will be forced to cancel significant numbers of subscriptions which will fatally compromise the UK's capacity for research". It called
for publishers to restrain themselves on pricing and "acknowledge the reality of current budgets".
However, a spokesperson for John Wiley & Sons said the publisher was committed to working with publishers through budget reductions. She said: "The recent public statements from librarians are almost certainly motivated by real concerns about the current and future state of funding for libraries as the effects of the recession continue to be felt around the world."
She added: "It is also true that public statements can be effective bargaining tools."
A spokesman for Elsevier said it was providing incentives for libraries to have e-only subscriptions to help reduce costs. He said: "These are very difficult times, and we will work with them."