RE: Open access and impact factor

["Michelle Kraft" <kraftm@ccf.org>]

I have been reading this discussion with some interest.  I have a question
regarding unavailability of certain articles and impact factors.

Take for instance the journal Spine.  We have a subscription to the
journal, but it contains quite a few articles in the epages that are
popular.  Unfortunately, we can not afford an institutional site license
to Spine, which means we cannot access their epages.  We are usually
unsuccessful in getting the article through ILL because many libraries do
not ILL journal epages.  Therefore, we have to go back to our patron and
tell them we cannot get that article.  The only way the patron can get the
article is buy it themselves or find a friend with a subscription to
Spine.
 
So while all have been talking about the relative nature of impact factors
on open access articles, I am curious as to know what one would find with
the impact factors on restricted articles like those similar to Spine's
epages.

___________________
Michelle Kraft
Medical Librarian
Cleveland Clinic Foundation
kraftm@ccf.org

>>> rickand@unr.edu 03/16/04 12:11AM >>>

> but, one does frequently see usage figures cited in support of
> big deals.
>
> The same distortion applies there as well -- availability promotes usage,
> which is often touted as an indicator of value.  In both cases, there is a
> mutually-reinforcing effect.

Absolutely, which brings up kind of a delicious irony: Those who see
enhanced impact factor as an argument in favor of open access would
probably have to concede that it also works as an argument for the big
deal (and vice versa).

-------------
Rick Anderson
rickand@unr.edu