RE: JISC Invitation to Tender: Open Access Publishing Initiative Round 2

["David Goodman" <David.Goodman@liu.edu>]

I'm surprised and pleased to find in the detailed proposal that:

> 9. This Invitation to Tender is open to both UK and international
> publishers.  Proposals from publishers based outside the UK will need to
> demonstrate that UK > authors are published in the relevant journals.  
> ...

This shows a commendably non-chauvanist position, well befitting the UK's
self-confidence from its long history as a center for scholarly
publishing.  It provides an appropriate challenge for other publishing
counties, like the United States. International reciprocity is an obvious
way of dealing with internationally-based science.

Allthough start-up funding does not provide a long-term solution, many
publishers have stated that financially the first 2 years or so require
capital for any new title or innovation until it has established its
reputation. Consequently, initiatives suh as this may indeed be critical
in attaining permanence

Two questions for the sponsors:

o How was the money spent in the first round? and,

o From where and how did they obtain the funding? If we knew the arguments
that persuaded the funders, others could try similarly.
 
Dr. David Goodman
Associate Professor
Palmer School of Library and Information Science
Long Island University
dgoodman@liu.edu