RE: "Overlay Journals" Over Again...[submisison fee thread]

["Kiley ,Robert" <r.kiley@wellcome.ac.uk>]

Jan

This idea of introducing a separate submission fee (to meet the 
costs of peer review) was discussed in a report published by the 
Wellcome Trust in 2004 (see: 
http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/stellent/groups/corporatesite/@policy_communications/documents/web_document/wtd003184.pdf)

This report even suggested an average fee -- $175.00.  I am not 
aware of any publisher that offers this service.

"One consideration to minimize the disincentive effect of author 
charges is to consider a submission fee and a publication fee. 
Such two-part tariffs are common in other spheres and are used 
when the production of a product incurs high fixed costs and a 
variable cost, for example telephone tariffs and fuel tariffs 
typically operate in this way. In economic efficiency terms this 
is a sensible option for publishers. It will discourage 
unrealistic submissions and make it possible to reflect the 
'true' cost of publication for any successful article. (see page 
20)

Robert

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu
[mailto:owner-liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu] On Behalf Of Jan Velterop
Sent: 02 July 2009 05:54
To: liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu
Subject: Re: "Overlay Journals" Over Again...

The situation is this:

1)researchers HAVE to publish and HAVE to have their publications 
peer-reviewed;

2)existing systems (OA-author-paid as well subscriptions) ONLY 
pay for PUBLISHED articles.

So the real problem is this: in neither case is the organization 
of peer review per se paid for. Those who argue that it is, place 
the entire burden of cost exclusively on the PUBLISHED papers.

What is needed is a system such as, say, your diving test. You 
pay for the test, whether you pass or not. Translated to 
publications, a fee at submission is what we need, for which 
peer-review is organized. And this fee should be non-refundable, 
whether the article is accepted for publication or not.

Where is the courageous and/or visionary 'publisher' (just using 
a familiar term that should probably be changed into 'assessment 
organization' or pithier equivalent) who starts a system like 
that?

Jan Velterop