RE: Who gets hurt by Open Access?

["Peter Banks" <pbanks@diabetes.org>]

David Goodman wrote:

"I believe it is generally considered that a single small or medium sized
online journal, which publishes original work and not expensive
commissioned features, can be published at almost no direct cost, by using
the volunteer labor of members of the society or department."

Generally considered? By whom? Not by the poor publishers and editors who
have to produce these journals.

If you are talking about a glorified list serve, with modest peer review
and copyediting, maybe your statement correct, though I suspect that the
volunteers will burn out sooner rather than later. Without some hardy
group of souls who pretty much surrender their personal and professional
lives to sustain a journal, however, prospects for sustaining such a
publication with any quality are remote. The problem with running an open
access journal is the same as that of socialism: it takes up too many
spare evenings.


Peter Banks
Publisher
American Diabetes Association
Email: pbanks@diabetes.org