RE: Dramatic Growth of Open Access - March 31, 2009

[Zac Rolnik <zac.rolnik@nowpublishers.com>]

As a publisher I try to start new journals, but some thought and
care needs to be put into starting new journals.  Is there a
need/demand for new journals?  Will the editors be able to
maintain high standards in the review process?  Is there
sufficient high quality content to sustain these new journals?
I have nothing against open access journals per se, but I get the
feeling that anyone who wants to start a journal can simply put
up their shingle so to speak and launch a new journal.  This
starts to morph into something I call "information pollution"?
Do we need all of these journals?  And TWO journals a day -- am I
reading that correctly?  Do these journals actually survive?

Again, I realize that traditional publishers -- both commercial
and not-for-profit -- also contribute to this proliferation of
unnecessary journals, but I think we need to be careful about
cheering on all of these new open access journals without a clear
understanding of their contribution to the scholarly process.
It is easier to find authors willing to pay $500-$1000 to get
published than capturing institutions willing to pay half that
amount for a subscription.  This can create the wrong incentives
to start OA journals in the commercial arena.  And just because
someone wants to start a journal and free OA software is
available to launch them, does that mean we should start a
plethora of new journals?

This is simply one publisher's opinion and does not necessarily
represent the opinions of my colleagues.

Thanks.

Zac Rolnik
Publisher
now -- the essence of knowledge
PO Box 1024
Hanover, MA 02339 USA
t: +1-781-871-0245
f: +1-781-871-6172
m: +1-781-985-4510
em. zac.rolnik@nowpublishers.com
www.nowpublishers.com


-----Original Message-----
From: owner-liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu
[mailto:owner-liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu] On Behalf Of Heather Morrison
Sent: Wednesday, April 01, 2009 7:28 PM
To: liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu
Subject: Dramatic Growth of Open Access - March 31, 2009

** with apologies for cross-posting **

I just posted the Dramatic Growth of Open Access for March 31,
2009

Synopsis:

This quarter, the growth of open access has been dramatic in open
access journals, open access archives, and, perhaps most
noteworthy, open access policies. The Directory of Open Access
Journals (DOAJ) is on the verge of an important milestone - 4,000
fully open access, peer-reviewed journals, double the number of
the largest commercial publisher. DOAJ is growing at the rate of
2 titles per day. OpenDOAR lists 1,373 repositories, an increase
of about 70 this quarter. Scientific Commons now encompasses 26
million items, an increase of 2 million. 663 journals are now
voluntarily participating in PubMedCentral, an increase of 119
(22%) this quarter. 447 journals provide immediate free access
through PubMedCentral, an increase of 29 (7%) this quarter. There
are 11 more open access policies, for a total of 72 policies
worldwide, and 4 more proposed policies, for a total of 14
proposed policies. One decrease is noted - not in open access per
se, but rather subscription journals providing free back issues:
Highwire Press seems to have 212,000 fewer free articles, a
decrease of 10%. This is a bit puzzling, as Highwire has added 1
more completely free site, and there is an increase of 11 sites
providing free back access. Any background on what is happening
here would be most appreciated.

For details and links, go to:
http://poeticeconomics.blogspot.com/2009/03/dramatic-growth-of-open-
access-march-31.html

Any opinion expressed in this e-mail is that of the author alone,
and does not represent the opinion or policy of BC Electronic
Library Network or Simon Fraser University Library.

Heather Morrison, MLIS
The Imaginary Journal of Poetic Economics
http://poeticeconomics.blogspot.com
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