Now in its sixth edition, the AALL Price Index for Legal Publications provides users with comparative information about past price changes in legal publishing. The Index supplies information that allows library professionals to make informed budgeting and collection development decisions - an important and enduring mission, given the recent turbulent economic times and its often devastating impact on library budgets.
First published in 1996 under the editorship of Bettie Scott and later Margie Axtmann, the purpose of the Price Index was to measure the change in average prices for a broad range of legal titles on a periodic basis. The current index, a table-based report on the mean cost of titles and their yearly percentage increase, is available only online and covers monographs, serial publications, legal periodicals, loose-leaf services, commercially published court reporters, legal continuations and supplemented treatises.
The current Price Index for Legal Publications Committee works with AALL headquarters staff to collect and measure the annual subscription pricing data, gathering appropriate information from publishers to ensure an accurate and relevant representation of price structures for consumers of legal information.
When gathering information, the committee asks publishers to provide their pricing. If a publisher declines to be surveyed, its pricing is not included in the Index. Prior to 2005, pricing was contributed by AALL members. However, in 2005, the Executive Board, concerned about the reliability of the information, decided to include only prices that were provided by the publishers themselves. AALL encourages vendors to disclose their prices but it is up to the management of the individual provider to decide whether or not to cooperate. Although the Price Index Committee continues to request pricing from all major vendors, Thomson West has declined to participate by disclosing their prices.
Due to Thomson West’s decision, concerns have arisen on the ongoing value of the Price Index without the Thomson West pricing, as well as its usefulness, given the increased use by vendors of variable pricing structures. In response to these concerns, questions about the Price Index were included in the 2007 Comprehensive Membership Survey. According to Betty Roeske, Chair of the Price Index for Legal Publications Committee, the majority of the respondents to the survey said that they still used the Price Index in their decision-making process. The Board reviewed the survey information collected and made a determination to continue publication. Every effort is still currently being made to get Thomson West’s cooperation and pricing.
The current Price Index became available the week of May 18, 2009, and includes pricing information for more than 653 paper titles and 105 electronic titles, as well as electronic pricing for single users that is not bundled with a print subscription. The Price Index also includes an appendix of all products and legal vendors that were surveyed. The Index is unavailable in print and is posted on the members’ only portion of AALLNET.
The Price Index serves as a budgeting tool for all segments of the AALL membership. To that end, the committee realizes how significant it is, especially in this financial climate, that Thomson West does not supply pricing and has not been included in the Price Index for several years. In 2009 - 2010, we would like to explore obtaining Thomson West prices directly from the membership. Any individual who would like to assist in this or has suggestions may contact Diana Jaque, incoming Price Index Chair (djaque@law.usc.edu).
Present members of the committee include Outgoing Chair Betty Roeske, of Katten Muchin Rosenman, LLP, Incoming Chair and current Vice Chair, Diana C. Jaque, Gail Hartzell, Judy C. Janes, Jean Mattimoe, Arturo Torres, and Lyn Warmath.