I have been mulling over the various announcements on this topic and finally cannot contain myself any longer.
First, let me say that although I have been a member of AER from time to time over the years since I have been involved as a professional, and a consumer, in the blindness field, I am not currently a member. When I worked for the state, the state I worked for would not cover my membership in AER and their salary was so minimal, I felt that I could not afford the cost of membership. I have been meaning to join since I believe my current employer will cover the cost of member,ship, but now I am not going to bother, because, really, what tangible benefit of membership would there be for me? I have always felt that the most useful and tangible membership benefit was my access to JVIB, which is the premier professional journal in the field. If I cannot rely on AER to provide my accessible subscription to JVIB, then why should I join?
Now for AFB's decision to charge me for online access to the journal, as usual, AFB does not understand the concept of equal access! Why should I have to pay more for accessing JVIB online than a print subscriber would pay for a print subscription to JVIB? If I am misunderstanding this fee structure, please enlighten me, but if I am not, and AFB is charging a separate (unequal) fee for online subscribers to JVIB, then they are not understanding one of the key concepts for which they profess to advocate!
In addition, I want to poit out that it is much cheaper to distribute a publication online than it would be to pay for printing, brailling, or even making available on cd and mailing. An online subscription should be *cheaper than a print or braille or other-than-online format subscription!
Thank you for allowing me to express my opinions, and if I am misinterpreting either of these recent announcements, I hope that someone will help me to "see the light."
Penny Reeder At 12:54 PM 4/29/2009, Maduffy@xxxxxxx wrote:
Hello Listers:As a VRT and as an Associate Editor of JVIB, I'd like to share this information with you, as a follow-up to the recent announcement by the AER Board of Directors to suspend the online JVIB subscription as an AER member benefit. To follow this discussion and to share any feedback you might have, I suggest you post your comments to the AER Listserv, where they will reach the appropriate audience.An Important Message from the American Foundation for the Blind:Effective immediately, AFB Press will offer all professionals a new $25 individual subscription fee for online access to the Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness (JVIB) and $65 for a combined print and online subscription. To allow for a new subscription process to be put in place following the AER decision to terminate JVIB as a member benefit, AFB Press will provide continuous access to JVIB during the months of April and May to our readership. Readers can log on using the generic "AER, AER" user name and password.During the month of May, JVIB's readership will be invited to join the JVIB community by contacting AFB Press directly and taking advantage of the new, reduced subscription rates for individual subscribers. At that time, AFB Press will provide additional information about how readers can formally sign up for their new subscriptions. In the meantime, please contact afbpress@xxxxxxx with any questions you might have.AER members who have print add-on subscriptions to the journal will be receiving their April print issue in the mail. Questions about your AER membership or the JVIB add-on print subscription arranged by AER should be addressed to the AER office directly.Thank you for your support of JVIB, and we look forward to continuing our relationship with you, our valued readers.The Editors and AFB Press Maureen A. Duffy, CVRT Editorial Director AWARE (Associates for World Action in Rehabilitation & Education) Phone: 914-528-5120 E-mail: maureen.duffy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Are you aware of our web site? <http://www.visionaware.org/>www.visionaware.org "Self-Help for Vision Loss" <http://www.twitter.com/visionaware>www.twitter.com/visionaware ----------<http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100126575x1220631276x1201390200/aol?redir>Big savings on Dell XPS Laptops and Desktops!
