ARL Calls for Justice Department to
Block Harcourt Sale to Reed Elsevier
The Association of Research Libraries has written the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division two letters to voice its concerns over the proposed $4.5 billion sale of publisher Harcourt General to Reed Elsevier. In response, the Justice Department has agreed to meet with ARL officials.
In the letters, ARL Executive Director Duane Webster warns that the deal would have “severe repercussions for libraries, researchers, and the public. This transaction will result in a further concentration of [science, medical, and technical] publishers and significantly increased prices. The net effect of the sale will be a continued erosion of access to scientific research and information resources.” Webster closes by stating “that this transaction should be prevented by antitrust enforcement agencies.”
“Every time there is a takeover by Reed Elsevier, the library community pays more for the product,” Webster told Reuters. ARL has previously lobbied the Justice Department and the European Commission against similar deals in the industry, such as Reed Elsevier’s 1997 plan to buy Wolters Kluwer, which was abandoned, Reuters reported November 1.
Posted November 6, 2000.
|
