Generally most university libraries are open to the public so that is 
another method to get journal articles.  Fortunately I live relatively 
close (65 miles) to a large university.  $2 for parking for an hour and 
a quick walk to the technical library where I can go into the reference 
room with its rank of computer terminals to access electronic files of 
most of the major journals.  $0.15/page for the printout.  So for $3 or 
$4 I can access pretty much any article.  There also used to be(30 years 
ago, and may very well still exist, although with the internet, maybe 
not) some companies that specialized in going to the libraries in our 
area (So. California) and getting the article for you.  Their cost was 
in the $10-$15/article.  So the cost is a bit lower than IOP but not as 
good as a personal visit to the library.

In my case, I can login into the library's search software to find out 
if the library subscribes to the particular journal, thereby eliminating 
the possibility of a fruitless trip.  (Unfortunately, unless you're a 
student or faculty member, you don't have remote access to the body of 
the articles.) I assume that other university library systems may have 
similar policies.

I, too, feel that the prices seem to be out of line.  There has been a 
some backlash from scientists over this issue (including that they were 
also charged to have their papers published.)  In particular I seem to 
remember that physicists have started their own web servers on which to 
exchange papers, not only cutting the cost, but also providing very 
short publishing/information exchange cycles.

Regards,
Charles R. Patton

ChrisAtUpw@....... wrote:
> In a message dated 2008/02/26, gpayton880@....... writes:
> 
>> Unfortunately, there is an obstacle to reading this article: 
>> "Unfortunately you do not have a license to view this article in 
>> IOPscience.  You can access 1961 J. Sci. Instrum. *38* 37 
>>  through our 
>> Electronic Journals service."  
> 
> 
> Hi Randall,
> 
>        I note that the avaricious IOP want $30 for an article that they 
> published in 1961 when supplied by direct download. And you have to 
> accept their 'Terms and Conditions'. It seems that they have yet to 
> learn fair pricing or common sense.
> 
>        This article probably is of interest if you are building optical 
> systems.  So why not go to your local library and ask them to supply a 
> photocopy from the Library of Congress?
> 
>        Regards,
> 
>        Chris Chapman
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