Kluwer Academic Publishers (KAP) has announced that it will provide a grace period of 3 months for subscribers to online journals. This is designed to prevent customers from being denied access to their journals each January 1 when their subscriptions have been renewed and pre-paid in good time.

This grace period will allow Kluwer and its subscription agent partners to ensure that all orders for online access are properly processed during the busy renewal season. Readers from registered institutions will be able to download articles from journals to which their institution had electronic access in 2002, even if a renewal order has not yet been processed.

This 3-month grace period (to March 31, 2003) is actually 1-month longer than the period recommended by the Association of Subscription Agents and Intermediaries (http://www.subscription-agents.org).According to the announcement, Kluwer will continue to make every effort to release journal prices by August 31 of each year.

Source: Kluwer Academic Publishers, New York, 212/620-8000; http://www.wkap.nl.