Re: Boston Globe Article About Open Access

["Marc Brodsky" <brodsky@aip.org>]

To paraphrase the opening paragraph,

"Their argument goes like this: Your federal tax dollars pay for some $50
billion a year in medical and scientific research. But if your daughter
falls ill and you want to see a doctor to benefit from the latest findings
on her disease, you'll often have to pay again, to get access to the
powerful doctors that can treat her."

You may also have to pay to read about the latest findings in a newspaper
or magazine or hear about them on a cable TV station or ... strangely
enough in a journal that vets the information, prepares it in a suitable
form and distributes it to wide or narrow audiences depending on what the
author might choose as a suitable medium.  The author may even choose to
publish it in a freely available web format through someone who promises
it will be available forever free based on a one time up front payment
that may cover all the costs of forever.

Marc

Marc H. Brodsky
Executive Director and CEO         E-mail: brodsky@aip.org
American Institute of Physics       Phone: (301) 209-3131
One Physics Ellipse                       Fax: (301) 209-3133
College Park, MD 20740-3843

>>> aokerson@pantheon.yale.edu 08/14/03 11:01PM wrote >>>

Article below is of possible interest.  Exploring new varieties of
business models for electronic journal publishing, including open access,
seems very important and desirable, for various reasons.  (It's somewhat
puzzling, though, that a key argument made for the public's needing access
to medical journals is that people will then use the information in those
articles to get better medical treatment or get the right, latest
treatment for their kids.  This particular argument is, I think, one of
the less compelling, as -- in my experience in glancing through numerous
medical journals -- the information is very technical and not particularly
decipherable for those not in that field.  It would be very hard to apply
intelligently the content of such articles to one's own health care.) Ann
Okerson/moderator

*******

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2003/08/14/scientists_seek_open_acces 
s_to_medical_research_boston_globe

Scientists seek open access to medical research
By Carey Goldberg, Globe Staff, 8/14/2003

Their argument goes like this: Your federal tax dollars pay for some $50
billion a year in medical and scientific research. But if your daughter
falls ill and you want to see the latest findings on her disease, you'll
often have to pay again, to get access to the powerful journals that
publish them.

[SNIP]

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