Rethinking Some Subscriptions

This is the time of year Jenny and I go through the Cox subscription list to add or subtract titles. This year, I want us to reconsider some big ticket items.

The first is the Official Airline Guide. This is one that you are going to have a hard time convincing me to keep. The cost is $669 per year. It is a monthly guide to flight schedules worldwide. However with the availability of online travel services like Expedia, Orbitz and Priceline, I doubt if it is being used much, if at all.


The next item is USA Today Newsview, a small newsmagazine of approximately 16 pages and no advertising published by the Society for the Advancement of Education. The price is a whopping $240 per year (probably because of the lack of advertising). According to OCLC, it is a very widely held publication, particularly in school libraries. But how much do you think it is being used here? Is it worth the price?



Weatherwise is $111 per year for 6 issues. It's a neat magazine and I will have a hard time giving this up. Nevertheless, that comes out to $18.50 per issue. What do you think?



Accra Cost of Living Index is a catalogued subscription (REF 338.528 Ame) which comes out twice per year. The cost is $137 per year. It gives the relative price levels for consumer goods, housing, health care, etc., for participating areas. This information is very interesting, however the operative word here is "participating areas" because not all areas are covered. For example, Princeton/Mercer County, which in my experience has been what most people have asked for, is not covered.

Jenny needs to get the updated subscription list to Cox by 9/8, so give me your opinions before then.

ABC CLIO Social Studies Database Trial

Instead of reviewing a book this week, I want you to take a look at the ABC CLIO Social Studies Database, to which we have a free trial from EBSCO. Here's how you can log on: Go to

http://www.socialstudies.abc-clio.com/ and use janebrown as both the username and password. To me, it looks very much likes our Facts on File database, so you may want to compare the two.

This is a free trial given to us by our EBSCO representative when she found out that we would not have to pay the $5000 extra for Academic Search Premier. The price would be approximately $6300 and this includes remote access. Facts on File and Facts.com combined are $2623. So it would have to be a whole lot better for that price. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Standard and Poor's Dividend Record

This is another big ticket item that really needs some scrutinizing. The yearly tab for the subscription is $1025. Unlike the S & P Statistical Record (cancelled--see previous blog entry in May) which I actually used years ago, I have never used this, but thought it was necessary information to make available at a public library. However, noting the pristine condition of the material, I realize that it certainly isn't being used heavily, if at all.

It provides a comprehensive record of dividend payments for virtually all publicly owned American and Canadian preferred and common stock shares. It also provides such information as issued stockholders rights, stock splits and dividend per share for S & P indexes. Components of the subscription include annual and quarterly dividend records with weekly updates.

So, the question is, do we need this depth of information on dividends, and at this price? I'll be interested to hear what you think.