Re: Institutional Journal Costs in an Open Access Environment

[Janellyn P Kleiner <jkleiner@lsu.edu>]

1.  Many researchers include their publication costs in their 
grants and have done this for decades.

2. Such a Provost's Board would never work for the reasons cited.

3. It's far more workable for academic departments to fund 
publishing costs as they have in the past in some universities. A 
percentage of the overhead should and in some universities does 
go to the departments to fund these costs.

4.  Departments not bringing in grants are penalized but could be 
assigned a smaller percentage of the overhead since their 
publishing costs are less but more often are not even charged.

Jane Kleiner
Associate Dean of Libraries for Collection Services
The LSU Libraries
Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge, LA 70803
Phone: 225-578-2217
Fax: 225-578-6825
E-Mail: jkleiner@lsu.edu
_________________________________

Phil Davis <pmd8@cornell.edu>@lists.yale.edu on 04/28/2006 04:57:19 PM
To:    liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu, Jan Velterop
        <velteropvonleyden@btinternet.com>
Subject:    Re: Institutional Journal Costs in an Open Access Environment

If grants are skimmed to support infrastructure costs (like 
lights and mowing the lawn), then why couldn't authors' 
publication costs be paid out of these same infrastructure costs? 
This is a very good question, and it makes logical sense in the 
same way that the library is part of the university's 
infrastructure and uses some of its money to pay subscription 
costs.  To this, I see a real governance issue:

Imagine that each institution set up a special fund to pay these 
author costs.  In fact, SPARC has proposed the creation of such a 
fund, and has called it a "Provost's Fund".  Let's discuss who is 
going to manage this fund?

In our first scenario, lets leave it unmanaged.  The author 
simply submits his/her invoices and the fees are paid.  Without 
anyone managing this account, this would akin to putting a lot of 
cash out on a table and ringing a dinner bell.  In realistic 
terms, it would be akin to the librarian purchasing any and all 
requests for material that came to his inbox.  Talk about 
potential for abuse!

In our second scenario, lets put in a management board of faculty 
who will decide who gets their author charges funded.

SCENE 1:

A request from a molecular biologist comes in for $1,500 bill to
pay for an article accepted in PLoS.  The life scientists on the
board say "ok", the physicist on the board, says, "why don't you
just post it on arXiv?"  The humanist says, "why does it cost so
much to publish?"  After much debate, the board funds this
article.

SCENE 2:

A request from a mathematician comes in with a $3,000 bill to pay
for an article accepted in a Springer journal.  The life
scientists says, "why so much money?  PLoS is only half as
expensive!  Why not publish in a less-expensive journal?"  The
physicists says, "why don't you just post it on the arXiv?"  The
humanist says, "why does it cost so much to publish?"  The
request is denied.  The mathematician appeals to his department,
his dean and the provost.  Under pressure, the board reverses
their decision and funds this article.

INTERMISSION

After six months of weekly meetings, the board discovers that
they have run out of money.  They appeal the Provost for more
cash.  More money is put in the Provost's Fund but with a stern
warning that the board needs to be more stringent.  After all,
the Provost is also being asked to fund a new nanotechology
building and build a new sports stadium.

SCENE 3

A request comes from medical researcher that got an article
accepted in PNAS.  She is really excited as she is an assistant
professor and this article will make her career.  She is only
asking for $1,000, and the life scientist thinks this is a great
deal.  The humanist still doesn't understand why it costs so much
to publish.  The physicist says, "why pay the money at all.
PNAS is a hybrid subscription/OA journal.  In 6-months, this
article will be free anyway!"  The board rejects this request,
agreeing with the physicist, and two-months later, they are
involved with a discrimination lawsuit.

While I have made this play a little more exciting than in real
life (theatre is like that), setting up funds to pay author-side
publishing costs runs straight into the horns of a dilemma.  Run
without any governance, this fund iis open to exploitation and
abuse.  Try to manage such a fund and you get involved in
political and ideological disputes that, at heart, challenges
academic freedom.

--Phil Davis

Jan, P.S. You'd be glad to hear that we cool our university campus
using a heat exchange system with the water in Cayuga Lake.
http://www.utilities.cornell.edu/utl_lscfte_howlscworks.html