Subject: mailing list Date: Tue, 15 Jan 2002 10:01:31 -0500 (EST) From: Joan Birman Dear Colleagues: By now I think that most of you have heard about the journals GT (Geometry and Topology) and AGT (Algebraic and Geometric Topology), started 5 and 1 year ago respectively. For full information see: http://www.maths.warwick.ac.uk/gt/gtp.html Both GT and AGT offer free electronic access to carefully refereed papers high quality papers in topology to individuals all over the world. Annually, we also publish a low cost print version. GT is now finishing its 5th year of publication, with a steadily growing number of pages (about 950 this year) and subscribers (688 electronic subscribers). AGT is newer, and has gotten off to a wonderful start, with 790 pages in its first year! Thanks to all those topologists who have submitted excellent papers and to all those referees who worked so hard to help us establish high standards! Up to the point of the assembling of a print version, both GT and AGT operate completely free of charge, being based upon the volunteer work of the managing editors and members of the Editorial Board and (like all mathematics journals) of its referees, and the typesetting work done by authors. However, there is one more phase to a successful journal and that is to get it into the libraries. That is where we now ask your help, Starting this year, print subscriptions will be handled at the home of the managing editors at U Warwick (see the web-site) and printing will be done at the Warwick print shop. Various "starter packs" are listed at the web site, both for libraries and individuals. Our prices are rock bottom. Recall that we charge 10cents/page, Annals charges about 11cents/page, the AMS about 20cents/page,JDiffGeom about 23 cents/page, Cambridge and Oxford University Presses about 40cents/page, Elsevier topology journals about 90cents/page, and Inventiones 101cents/page. When libraries support us, they take pages away from higher or much higher priced journals, and send a message of encouragement to other mathematicians who wish to start free or low priced journals and keep control of math in mathematicians hands. An alternative is for libraries to order an "electronic only" subscription at $80/year, which gives electronic access to all GT publications, archiving etc. That money will be applied to cover our expenses in getting out the print versions, putting GT and AGT on a firm financial basis for the years ahead (when print versions of journals may disappear, although the high prices charged by commercial publishers show all signs of continuing.) Many of the best university math libraries in the US subscribe to GT and/or AGT, for example: UCLA Science and Engineering Library EMS Collection, UC-Santa Barbara, UC-Irvine, UC-Davis, UC-Berkeley, Stanford University, CalTech, U Southern Cal, Harvard, Brandeis, MIT, Williams College Library, Princeton University, IAS Princeton Yale University, Dartmouth, Brown, University of Connecticut (Babbidge Lib), Columbia Univ., SUNY-Stony Brook, SUNY-Albany, SUNY-Binghamton, Courant Institute Math Sciences Library, Syracuse, University of Chicago Library, Northwestern University Library, Univ Illinois-Unbana, Univ Illinois-Chicago, Bryn Mawr College, Penn State University, Oberlin College Library University of Pennsylvania Libraries, University of Wisconsin, University of Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State University Libraries Indiana University Libraries, Washington State University Library Colorado State University, University of Texas-Austin, Texas Christian University, Kansas State Univ Libraries, Linda Hall Library Kansas City, Florida State University, Florida Atlantic University, University of Miami Library, Duke University (Perkins Library), UNC-Chapel Hill, Emory University, Mississippi State Uinversity, University of Arkansas, Vanderbilt University (Lib Periodicals Dept). If your University is on the list, please make sure that it subscribes to BOTH GT and AGT and has a complete set of all volumes (or takes out an Electronic Library Subscription). If your library is not on this list, we ask you to speak to your librarian or the appropriate committee about GT and/or AGT. The point to make is that the cost is low, and that the journals are excellent. Also, during the past 5 years we have taken away 2000 pages of papers that would otherwise probably have appeared in high priced journals like Topology and Topology and its Applications, making an inroad on the attempts by Elsevier to control the market. Sincerely, Joan Birman (member of the Executive Committee of G&T Publications)