Introduction

Scientific journal publishers have very little commercial experience with electronic full text distribution, and it is hard, if not impossible, to segregate the effect of pricing on user acceptance and behavior. Most experiments or trial offers have been without charge to the user. Most paid services have targeted institutional rather than individual buyers. Nevertheless, we can look at some of the known experiences and at ongoing and proposed experiments to get some sense of the interaction of pricing and acceptance and of the other factors that seem to affect user behavior. We can also look at institutional buying concerns and pricing considerations.