Discusses the need for standard and reliable sources of data on the costs of foreign library materials. A survey of price data available from vendors, bookselling associations, and librarians in France, Germany, and the Netherlands is described, and progress toward standardized price indexes is examined. (22 references) (CLB)

Provides data on price trends for French academic books in the humanities and social sciences for the years 1986-90 based on information from the "Bulletin Critique du Livre Francais," a monthly book-reviewing journal. A method for developing a price index for this material is demonstrated. (Contains eight references.) (LRW)