TAB/PSPB Products & Services Committee Minutes June 2008

I.   Review and Adoption of Agenda.  The agenda was approved as submitted.                  (Attachment 2)  

II.  Approval of14 February 2008 Meeting Minutes. The minutes of the 14 February 2008 meeting were approved as submitted.

III.  Opening Remarks.  Mr. Rahman indicated that the IEEE Xplore download data is currently being verified to determine what content elements (articles, multimedia, front matter, etc.) are accounted for in usage statistics.  In addition, he reported that the new conference publications distribution algorithm will be presented to TAB this week, with the possibility of a request to establish a deadline of 31 August for additional comments if it is not approved.

IV.  Sales and Marketing Update.  Mr. Dahl provided an update on 2008 sales, sales by territory and market, and a first take at 2009 goals. (Attachment 3)

V.  Publishing Industry Update.  Ms. Lange reported on several developments in the STM industry and the impacts they have on IEEE. (Attachment 4)

VI.  IEEE Xplore®.  Mr. Grenier reported on several Xplore developments, including a project to replace the current search engine.  Ms. Lange gave an update on the upcoming Xplore 3.0 release.  (Attachment 5)

VII.  Action Items

A.

Business Plan for IEEE Communications Library.  Ms. McLean presented a proposal for a new offering targeted at the corporate marketplace.  The IEEE Communications Library would provide unlimited access to all IEEE Communications Society (ComSoc) periodicals (journals, transactions, magazines), as well as two of ComSoc’s conference publications.  In addition, subscribers would have an additional 1,000 downloads to use for accessing other IEEE periodical and conference publication content within the IEEE Xplore database. (Attachment 6)

A Motion was made to:

Endorse the development and sale of the IEEE Communications Library, with net revenue being split 75/25 (75% going to the Communications Society directly and 25% to other OUs using the existing distribution algorithm for IEEE Enterprise).

Concern was expressed regarding the distribution methodology because it potentially would result in overpayment to IEEE Communications Society. Having already gotten 75% of the net sales, any additional return from the remaining 25% distribution was viewed as being unfair.

In response, the Committee was informed that a delayed endorsement would also delay the launch of the product.

A friendly amendment was made to:

Endorse the development and sale of the IEEE Communications Library, subject to the development and final approval of a revenue distribution model to be presented in November 2008.

The amended Motion passed.

ACTION: Ms. McLean will review the distribution methodology to ensure that it does not unfairly overcompensate any of the OUs.  The distribution methodology will then be resubmitted for endorsement.Action Item Due: November 2008 Meeting Series.

B.

IEEE Member Digital Library (MDL) Modifications.  Ms. McLean presented a proposal for a modified version of the MDL that would allow members with access to fewer articles at a lower price. (Attachment 7)

A Motion was made to:

Endorse the launch of IEEE Member Digital Library (MDL) Basic.

As a condition of endorsing the motion, it was requested that staff investigate the possibility of allowing for “roll-over” of unused monthly downloads.

The Motion passed.

ACTION: Staff will investigate the possibility of allowing unused monthly downloads to be rolled over for use in future months. Action Item Due: Status report at November 2008 Meeting Series.

C.

2009 Product Pricing

1. TAB/IEEE Offerings. Mr. Dahl presented the proposed 2009 prices for IEEE's base packages (IEL, ASPP and POPs), as well as Enterprise, MDL and article sales. (Attachment 8)
   
   A Motion was made to:

Endorse the 2009 TAB/IEEE pricing recommendations, as follows:

The Motion passed.  Mr. Akgul, Mr. de Moustier, and Mr. Dunlop abstained.

Mr. Dahl also presented recommended prices for two Student Branch periodicals offerings. (Attachment 9)  There was some discussion about the ongoing viability of these two offerings, resulting in modifications to the proposed pricing plans.

A Motion was made to:

Endorse no change to the IEEE Student Branch ASPP price for 2009, with termination of the offering in 2010.

The Motion passed. Mr. Dunlop and Ms. Hirt abstained.

A Motion was made to:

Endorse the 2009 IEEE Student Branch Magazine Package price of $790 and review the product in 2009 for further action.

The Motion passed.

Mr. Dahl also presented the proposed update to the formula used for establishing the list price for conference proceedings. (Attachment 10)

A Motion was made to:

Approve the 2009 conference publications list price formula of .166 * ((# of articles * 5.5) + 1000).

The Motion passed.

2. IEEE Computer Society Digital Library Offerings. Ms. Carter provided an update on proposed 2009 pricing for various Computer Society offerings. (Attachment 11)
3. IEEE Communications Society Digital Library. Mr. Howell presented 2009 budget information, including proposed 2009 pricing for various Communications Society offerings. (Attachment 12)

D.

Conference Publications Distribution Methodology.  Mr. Varian presented a new methodology for distributing revenue from the conference publications business.  The most significant difference is the incorporation of usage data to determine distributions, much like what is currently done with the ASPP distribution.  Mr. Varian reported that the Conference Publications Committee endorsed the new approach.  It was then presented to the TAB Finance Committee, resulting in a revision that introduced a three-year phase-in period.  The IEEE Conferences Committee also endorsed this revised version. (Attachment 13)

A Motion was made to:

Approve the new conference publications revenue distribution algorithm, as follows:

        Single sales revenues        No change

        Individual title expenses    No change

       Package Net                       65% based on usage; 35% based on content

Implementation to be effective with the 2010 budget cycle, with a three-year transition period, as follows:

        2010     33% of package net based on new algorithm; 67% based on old

        2011     67% of package net based on new algorithm; 33% based on old

        2012     100% of package net based on new algorithm

Portion of distribution based on old algorithm will be fixed at the percentage of the distribution each OU received from 2005-2008.

The Motion passed. Mr. Varian abstained.

E.

Conference Publications Committee (CPC) and TAB Periodicals Packages Committee (PPC) Charter Changes. Mr. Dunlop indicated the need for additional staff support for the PPC.  In addition, he and Mr. Varian recommended that the charters of the PPC and CPC be reviewed to clarify responsibilities and chains of communication.

ACTION: Mr. Dunlop, Mr. Varian, Ms. Creighton, Ms. Hawkins and Mr. Vasquez will formulate suggested revisions to the CPC and PPC charters, possibly including a redefinition of responsibilties. Action Item Due: No less than 30 days prior to the November 2008 Meeting Series.

VIII.  Strategic Issues

A.

Publications Strategic Planning Update.  No report was given.

B.

Publishing R&D Projects and New Initiatives. No report was given. 

C. 

Product Line Reviews

1. Non-Member Online Libraries.  Ms. Mclean presented a strategic overview of IEEE’s major online offerings (IEL, Enterprise, MDL). (Attachment 14)
2. Conference Content.  Mr. Vasquez presented information on Conference Presentations Online, a new venture for capturing and delivering slides plus audio. (Attachment 15)
3. Society Periodicals. Ms. Creighton provided this information as part of item XI.A.
4. Standards. Mr. Plessel presented a strategic overview of the IEEE Standards Association’s product mix. (Attachment 16)
5. Education. Ms. Hawkins presented a strategic overview of IEEE Expert Now. (Attachment 17)
6. IEEE Computer Society. Ms. Carter presented a report on several strategic efforts being undertaken by the IEEE Computer Society. (Attachment 18)
7. IEEE Communications Society. Ms. Desmond provided an update on the launch of the Wireless Communications Engineering Technologies (WCET) certification program. (Attachment 19)
8. IEEE Solid-State Circuits Society. Mr. Kumar provided information on Replay-on-Demand, a new venture for delivering expanded content from the IEEE Solid-State Circuits Conference. (Attachment 20)

IX.  Operational Issues

A.

IEEE Product Management Update.  Ms. Lange presented an update on several product management related activities, including the establishment of a cross-departmental product management staff team, product management training and creating a common P&L format. (Attachment 21) 

B.

Communicating Access Thresholds for Society Member Digital Libraries (SMDLs).  Mr. Dahl reported on the actions being taken by IEEE Sales & Marketing staff to monitor possible misuse of member access to online content and to enforce the thresholds approved by TAB in November 2007. (Attachment 22)

X.  Product Development Updates

A.

Extended IEEE Enterprise Products. Ms. Mclean provided an update on IEEE Journals Library Plus and IEEE Computing Library. (Attachment 23)  

B.

IEEE Press eBooks. Mr. Moore reported on the IEEE Knowledge Library, a new product concept that would provide access to IEEE Press books via IEEE Xplore. (Attachment 24) 

XI.  Products/Services Updates

A.

IEEE and Multi-Society Offerings.  Reports were presented or submitted for the following offerings: IEEE/IEE Electronic Library (IEL), IEEE Member Digital Library (MDL), single article sales, IEEE Enterprise suite, Society/Council periodicals (including the IEEE All-Society Periodicals Package (ASPP)), and conference publications. (Attachment 25)

B.

Society Offerings    

1. IEEE Computer Society. Ms. Carter provided an update on the IEEE Computer Society Digital Library (CSDL) offerings. (Attachment 26)
2. IEEE Communications Society. No report was provided.

C.

Standards Offerings.  Mr. Plessel provided a financial overview of the IEEE Standards Association, with particular focus on IEEE Standards Online (ISOL). (Attachment 27)

XII.  Standing Committee Reports

A. 

Conference Publications Committee (CPC) Report.  Mr. Varian indicated that the CPC had reviewed several items during its recent meeting, the most significant of which was the new revenue distribution algorithm.

B. 

TAB Periodicals Packages Committee (PPC) Report.  Mr. Dunlop provided an update on the recent activities of the PPC, including a review of the Xplore materials that are included in usage reports. (Attachment 28)   

XIII.  Information Items

A.

New Periodicals Proposals. No information was submitted.

XIV.  Time And Place Of Next Meeting.  The final meeting of the 2008 TAB/PSPB Products & Services Committee will be held on Thursday, 13 November 2008 in New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA in conjunction with the IEEE Meeting Series.    

XV.  Adjournment.The meeting was adjourned at 5:00PM.