Re: We have met the enemy...

["John Cox" <John.E.Cox@btinternet.com>]

...Moreover, none of us can live without parasites!  Bernie Sloan is quite
right in making it clear that both publishers and librarians have a
relationship that is both intertwined and is parasitical - in the nicest
possible way - upon scholars and researchers, who are our authors and our
readers.  They will do what they need to do in other ways unless both
publishers and librarians demonstrate that, together, they provide a
vastly superior information service, with structure, navigation tools,
quality control, context-specific products and brand recognition.

John Cox

John Cox Associates
E-mail: John.E.Cox@btinternet.com

-----Original Message-----
From: Sloan, Bernie <bernies@uillinois.edu>
To: 'liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu' <liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu>
Date: 23 May 2000 01:57
Subject: RE: We have met the enemy...

>I agree with John Cox's statement that "One of the solutions is for
>publishers and librarians to talk to each other..."
>
>The interaction of publishers with libraries is often a contentious
>process. In a way, I tend to see the relationship as a symbiotic
>relationship where each symbiont views the other as a parasite. In other
>words, publishers and libraries need each other, but they all too often
>tend to view each other as parasites, each out to bleed the other dry.
>
>Bernie Sloan
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: John Cox [mailto:John.E.Cox@btinternet.com]
>Sent: Sunday, May 21, 2000 5:07 PM
>To: liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu
>Subject: Re: We have met the enemy...
>
>
>It's not greed that makes publishers (including ALA, ACRL and other
>library organisations) put restrictive provisions in their standard
>agreements. It's fear of the unknown.  And that is as true of the
>commercial publishers that are the butt of much criticism, but also
>societies, university presses and even non-profit publishers in the
>library community.  In my work as a consultant, I have found no
>discernable difference in approach between the for-profit and non-profit
>sectors.
>
>Developing business models for online information has been, and will
>continue to be, a process of experimentation.  In uncharted waters, where
>the parties have for the first time to define their rights and
>obligations, publishers consult their lawyers.  And lawyers, in drafting
>licences, will be as protective of their clients' intellectual property as
>possible. Publishers then continue to use such licenses even though the
>market has changed, and got wiser.  Why this should surprise anyone is
>beyond me - it's human nature.
>
>One of the solutions is for publishers and librarians to talk to each
other,
>and reduce their dependence on the legal fraternity.  Shouting at each
>other, and referring to 'the enemy' is not constructive dialogue.
>
>John Cox
>
>John Cox Associates
>The Pippins, 6 Lees Close, Whittlebury
>TOWCESTER, Northants NN12 8XF
>United Kingdom
>Tel: +44 1327 857908
>Fax: +44 1327 858564
>E-mail: John.E.Cox@btinternet.com