RE: Correction (RE: Thatcher vs. Harnad)

["David Prosser" <david.prosser@bodley.ox.ac.uk>]

Anthony

I really don't want to flog this, but I've mentioned it twice now 
and you've ignored it twice.  There are significant numbers of 
open access journals that make no charges to authors.  You can 
find them in the DOAJ.  In fact, the figure is about 50% of all 
journals listed in DOAJ impose no charges to publish (whether the 
author is poor or as rich as Bill Gates).

The world is not as black and white as you try to paint it - 
there are subscription-based journals (including some from 
commercial publishers) that require author payments and there are 
open access journals that don't.  The environment I strive for is 
open access - there will be a variety of business models. 
Authors will continue to be able to choose between those open 
access journals that charge nothing and those that do charge. 
Just as they currently choose between those subscription journals 
that charge nothing and those that do charge.

David C Prosser PhD
Director
SPARC Europe
E-mail:  david.prosser@bodley.ox.ac.uk
http://www.sparceurope.org

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu 
[mailto:owner-liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu] On Behalf Of Anthony 
Watkinson
Sent: 07 July 2007 01:41
To: liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu Subject:
Re: Correction (RE: Thatcher vs. Harnad)

David

I am glad I gave you an opportunity. It gives me the opportunity 
to say how glad I am that these journals have moved away from 
these charges. I have just done a survey of charges of all 
journals with impact factors in a particular discipline and have 
found that none of the commercial publishers charge colour or 
page charges or submission charges or excess page charges. Some 
of the learned societies self-publishing do. However there is 
clearly plenty of choic for the authors. In the environment you 
strive to realise there will be no choice at all unless you can 
plead poverty. You will have to pay to publish or get someone 
else to pay.

Anthony

----- Original Message -----
From: "David Prosser" <david.prosser@bodley.ox.ac.uk>
To: <liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, July 04, 2007 8:11 PM
Subject: RE: Correction (RE: Thatcher vs. Harnad)

> Actually, Anthony, I wouldn't have made that point as it would
> have placed me on a very sticky wicket!  When I worked at OUP
> Nucleic Acids Research did make colour figure charges and The
> EMBO Journal (which was then published by OUP) had a per page
> charge for 'excess' pages - to give just two examples. (Of
> course, Nucleic Acids Research is now an open access journal.)
>
> My point was to show that the 'open access journals erect new
> financial barriers to authors' argument is too simplistic.
> Significant numbers of closed access journals require author
> payments and significant numbers of open access journals
> require no such charges.
>
> Best wishes
>
> David C Prosser PhD
> Director
> SPARC Europe
> E-mail:  david.prosser@bodley.ox.ac.uk
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu
> [mailto:owner-liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu] On Behalf Of Anthony Watkinson
> Sent: 03 July 2007 05:59
> To: liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu
> Subject: Re: Correction (RE: Thatcher vs. Harnad)
>
> Dear David
>
> As we have discussed in another arena, I am sure that you have,
> when you worked at OUP and Elsevier, made the point that your
> journals did not have colour charges probably and certainly not
> page charges. If you did not use this point in promotion you were
> missing a trick - which is not like you. As you know very few
> commercial journals have page charges.
>
> Anthony