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The character of IDC collections implies working for small, sometimes even critical numbers of customers.
A critical economic model that relies on a realistic estimation of only 10 to 15 customers is not uncommon.
This implies that every copy sold is relevant. Sometimes it takes 4 to 5 years before the estimated number
is reached. Capturing on locations worldwide and developing bibliographic access according to international standards results in a cost intensive process. Together with the 'economic' risk of a slow and small market this results in a pricing of collections which is sometimes considered 'high'. It will be clear that a certain return on investment to be realized within a certain timeframe is a prerequisite for the continuation of our publishing plan for the next years. Especially in the frequent case of collections with a "combining the scattered"-character and an outstanding quality, consistency and coherence in conjunction to the subject require serious investments. Buying a microform collection results in the ownership of the information in a stable format (over centuries). If the microform collection of IDC is ever transferred to a digital format, customers who have bought the microform collection in the past will be valued as stakeholders of the new proposition and will always receive a very special offer for accessing the digital format. |