E-value of journals

Loughborough University's report on the increased costs of journals will cause publishers to think further on their pricing policies ("Journal costs soar by up to 94 per cent", October 15).

Sage is one of the publishers cited by the Loughborough study.

We have increased prices to take account of the costs of electronic publication and the rising number of articles we publish.

Though our headline journal prices are higher, cost per use has fallen dramatically as electronic usage of our journals has risen. Sage's median price remains below the average pricing of the publishers examined by the report, and we intend to ensure that this will continue to be the case in the future.

Stephen Barr
Managing director
Sage Publications