SPARC Partners with New Labor Studies Journal

[Alison Buckholtz <alison@arl.org>]

For Immediate Release
September 10, 2003

For more information, contact:
Alison Buckholtz, alison@arl.org
http://www.arl.org/sparc

SPARC PARTNERS WITH NEW LABOR STUDIES JOURNAL
Entire editorial board moves to new journal

Washington, DC 

SPARC (the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition) today
announced a partnership with Labor: Studies in Working Class History in
the Americas, a new journal founded by the entire editorial board of Labor
History, a commercial title owned by Taylor and Francis. As SPARC's first
partnership in the humanities, the alliance with Labor broadens SPARC's
reach into another field plagued by disproportionate prices for commercial
journals and a lack of competitive alternatives.

The new journal, to be launched by the Duke University Press in February
2004, was created in response to "irreconcilable differences" between the
editorial board and Taylor and Francis. According to Leon Fink, the former
editor-in-chief of Labor History and editor of the new Labor, the
principal issue was maintaining the journal's editorial independence.
States Fink, "We couldn't continue to maintain the journal's editorial
quality while meeting the demands of Taylor and Francis to increase the
number of pages published per year."

More than 40 people associated with the Taylor and Francis journal have
joined Fink at the new Labor journal, including four associate editors,
the book review editor, the six-person editorial committee, and the 30
contributing editors.

Labor, the new journal, is available for $200 for print, which is 20
percent less than the commercial title.  Labor is $180 for electronic-only
subscriptions. SPARC and Duke University Press are encouraging SPARC
members to subscribe to Labor.

Moving to a not-for-profit publisher such as Duke University Press
appealed to Fink, who is a professor of history at the University of
Illinois at Chicago. "I came to realize that a different logic motivates a
commercial publisher," he said. "Even as a labor historian I do not relish
labor conflict in my role as a journal editor. But with our new journal,
U.S. labor historians will have confidence for the first time in years
that they are truly running the show when it comes to publishing the best
work in the field. Duke University Press embodies what we feel are the
appropriate concerns of the academic community."

"Until recently, SPARC has focused on STM, so we were delighted to learn
of their support for Labor. As with all our journals, we see the
publication of Labor as a collaboration between Duke University Press and
a dedicated group of academics," said Duke University Press Director Steve
Cohn. "Leon Fink and his editorial team have already shown the strength of
their editorial vision by dramatically transforming the scope and
intellectual power of Labor History in just two years. It is our task as a
university press to help them fully realize their vision of what a journal
on labor and working class history can accomplish when it is published in
a spirit of academic partnership."

"The editors of Labor have demonstrated that academic editors should and
can control their journals," said SPARC Director Rick Johnson. "We commend
their efforts and congratulate them on their decision to join with Duke
University Press to offer a high-quality, economical alternative.
Libraries and the labor history community will benefit from their
leadership and determination."

Labor History was founded in 1960 and owned by the Tamiment Institute.
Since the late 1990s, the journal has been published by CarFax, subsidiary
of Taylor and Francis. The issue of more frequent publication arose after
Tamiment sold the journal to Taylor and Francis. One editorial board
member told the Chronicle of Higher Education that the plan was designed
to justify an increase in subscription prices.

Labor will publish four issues annually. For more information:
<http://www.dukeupress.edu/labor>

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SPARC (Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition) and SPARC
Europe are initiatives of universities, research libraries, and library
organizations that support increased competition in scholarly publishing.
SPARC publishing partnerships and educational activities encourage
expanded dissemination of research and reduced financial pressure on
libraries. Worldwide membership currently includes 277 institutions and
organizations. SPARC is located on the web at www.arl.org/sparc. SPARC
Europe is at www.sparceurope.org.

Duke University Press (http://www.dukeupress.edu) publishes 35 journals
and more than 100 books annually. The Press now publishes primarily in the
humanities and social sciences. It is best known for its publications in
the broad and interdisciplinary area of theory and history of cultural
production, and it is known in general as a publisher willing to take
chances with nontraditional and interdisciplinary publications.

***