RE: AAAS and JSTOR issues

["David Carlson" <dcarlson@lib.siu.edu>]

As my letter to AAAS tried to make clear, the key issue in this 
decision ought to be mission. Yes, AAAS is a nonprofit with a 
broad mission. I also agree that AAAS needs to be successful 
operationally in its business affairs, but its mission as a 
non-profit is not to make money. Its mission is to advance 
science and serve society, as its web site reminds us on every 
darn page.

I am sure that on occasion in the history of any organization, 
decisions are necessary that may be viewed, at some levels, in 
opposition to mission. But any decision that is contradictory to 
mission (as I believe the JSTOR withdrawal decision clearly 
represents) ought to be rare (first and foremost), carefully 
considered and justified relative to mission. In my judgment, the 
JSTOR withdrawal rationale posted on the AAAS web site is 
stunningly weak in its rationale and justification with no 
recognition that it represents a departure from mission.

-- David

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu
[mailto:owner-liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu] On Behalf Of Elizabeth Kirk
Sent: Monday, September 10, 2007 5:28 PM
To: liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu
Subject: Re: AAAS and JSTOR issues

I, too, am disappointed in the withdrawal of Science from JStor. 
JStor has been and continues to be one of the very best projects 
to take advantage of the Internet.

There is a key difference, however, in the missions of AAAS and 
JStor. JStor is dedicated to serving the public and non-profit 
sectors (to the best of my knowledge, and I speak from 
experience, JStor does not grant licenses to for-profit 
institutions). AAAS, itself a non-profit, has a broader mission 
and broader audience. If AAAS maintains an exclusive relationship 
with JStor, it would not be possible for its profit-side audience 
to enjoy access to Science archives.

If JStor were to become AAAS's vendor for non-profit and 
government agencies, all sides of the equation might be well 
served---AAAS's broader audience would have access to the archive 
through other means and JStor would be able to keep this title 
and its mandate.

If I am speaking through my hat, I welcome the correction of
someone closer to either party.

Cheers,

Elizabeth E. Kirk
Associate Librarian for Information Resources
Dartmouth College Library
6025 Baker-Berry Library, Rm. 115
Hanover, NH 03755-3525
telephone: (603) 646-9929
fax: (603) 646-3702
Elizabeth.E.Kirk@dartmouth.edu


On Sep 7, 2007, at 8:56 PM, dcarlson@lib.siu.edu wrote:

> It does not seem to have garnered much listserv attention, but
> I think most liblicense readers are aware of the AAAS decision
> to withdraw its premier publication, Science magazine, from
> JSTOR. I was very disappointed with this decision. I recently
> sent a letter to the chair of AAAS, John Holdren, expressing my
> concerns and my hope that AAAS would reconsider its decision. A
> copy of my letter is below in plain and simple (but easily
> exchanged) ASCII text.

[stuff deleted....]