RE: The value of open access & update to the Dramatic Growth of Open Access

["Rick Anderson" <rickand@unr.edu>]

> Specious argument. If the huge number of people who have no use 
> for this literature ignore it and don't use it, how is there a 
> cost associated with "giving" it to them?

There are the direct costs incurred in setting up and maintaining 
the service, and there the shadow costs incurred when you make it 
impossible to sell the content, which will inevitably drive 
players (some of whom provide valuable services to researchers) 
out of the market.  The first of those costs is incurred 
regardless of usage; the second is incurred regardless of usage 
by the non-scientist public.

For more detailed arguments on this issue, check out the various 
discussion threads in the LIBLICENSE-L archives.

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Rick Anderson
Dir. of Resource Acquisition
University of Nevada, Reno Libraries
rickand@unr.edu