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re: does more mean more?



Is response to the question, does more mean more?, may I suggest a simple answer: yes!

For example, thanks to the leadership of our very own moderator Ann Okerson and others, the OARE program is poised to improve access to environmental journals in developing countries. As reported in Open Access News:

"OARE will enable countries to build their own higher education programs in the environmental sciences, educate their own leaders, conduct their own research, publish their own scientific findings and disseminate information to policy makers and the public." from: http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/ 2005_12_25_fosblogarchive.html#113561150615271861

If there are more researchers in any given field, it seems reasonable to assume that there will be more research. If more research is being done, then more will need to be published.

This does not mean that the average researcher has more time to read, of course. Efficiencies are needed, such as the ability to use robots to search, retrieve, and do some preliminary analysis of documents. Such efficiencies do not fit well with our current publishing-and-licensing practices. Systematic downloading is necessary, for example, while it is often forbidden by current licenses.

Although it may seem overwhelming to contemplate even more information, let us consider this in light of what research is all about.

For example, to go back to OARE: does anyone really think that accelerating research in the area of environmental sciences is not a good idea? In my opinion, we should be employing the techniques used to map the human genome in record time (open sharing and collaboration) to work in other areas: such as finding economical, sustainable, environmentally friendly energy sources. For more on this, please see my blogpost, "Toward a vision for scholarship...and communications" at: http://tinyurl.com/dka93

Or, let's look at another research area: cancer research. Imagine that we find a way to increase education in the developed world and the developing world alike. Imagine, as a result, more scientists working on cancer research. More basic understanding of cancer, more progress. More scientists, more research, more publication. More knowledge - more prevention, more treatment, more cures. Sometimes, more really does mean more!

When it comes to matter such as knowledge and wisdom...isn't more better?

cheers,

Heather Morrison
http://poeticeconomics.blogspot.com
http://oalibrarian.blogspot.com
E-LIS Editor, Canada http://eprints.rclis.org/