The Information Access Alliance (IAA) was formed in 2003 by leading US national library organizations to address growing market dysfunctions in academic publishing markets. In particular, IAA is concerned about:

• insupportably high prices of journals and other serial publications, which leads to cancellation and reduced information availability;

• accelerating industry consolidation, which contributes to price increases and elevates barriers to market entry; and

• anti-competitive product bundling practices by an array of large publishers.

IAA supports a competitive and diverse academic publishing marketplace in which the needs of researchers, their institutions and funders, and the public are well served. That marketplace should be open to new entrants and provide a level playing field for all types of publishers. We believe antitrust law offers appropriate remedies for these problems. However, action has not been taken primarily because antitrust authorities do not adequately understand the purchase decision-making process used by libraries—the primary customers of STM and legal serial publications.

By coordinating and communicating the relevant work of legal experts and economists, IAA is a voice for active review of the market and adoption of review standards appropriate to the special characteristics of scholarly publishing by state and federal antitrust enforcement agencies.