Berkeley faculty statement on scholarly publishing

[Margaret Phillips <mphillip@library.berkeley.edu>]

** apologies for cross posting **


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY FACULTY ENDORSE "STATEMENT OF
PRINCIPLES" ON SCHOLARLY PUBLISHING

Berkeley, California, May 4, 2005 - The Berkeley Division of the Academic
Senate endorsed a statement of principles designed to open research
findings to a broader public. Acknowledging the need to reshape and regain
control of scholarly publishing, the faculty acted after determining that
the subscription price of a single journal may be higher that the price of
an automobile and that researchers here and globally are being priced out
of the discoveries in many fields.

In the statement (available at http://academic-senate.berkeley.edu/news/),
Berkeley faculty resolve to retain control of their scholarly output by
retaining intellectual property rights and submitting their work with
publishers who maintain reasonable business practices. The Academic Senate
statement not only encourages Berkeley scholars to publish or serve as
editors in alternative outlets but pledges to provide tools and incentives
for them to change their behavior.

At a March 31 faculty conference on scholarly publishing sponsored by the
Berkeley Academic Senate and the Office of the Chancellor
<http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/scholarlypublishing/>, Alice Agogino,
Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Vice Chair of the Berkeley
Division of the Academic Senate, called on her colleagues to take
immediate action.  "[We must] support new forms of scholarly
communication, working with faculty and making strategic investments in
approaches that are sustainable and reduce costs to the university in the
long run."

Reporting on the conference at the April 25 divisional meeting of the
Academic Senate, Nicholas Jewell, a professor of Biostatistics, stated,
"Berkeley must be in the forefront in leading a revolution in scholarly
publishing."

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Margaret Phillips
Electronic Resources Librarian
218 Doe Library
University of California
Berkeley, CA  94720-6000

510-643-8766
mphillip@library.berkeley.edu
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