Re: Maximising research access vs. minimizing copy-editing errors

[Peter Banks <pbanks@bankspub.com>]

When it comes to medical journals, at least, Anthony is quite 
correct.

Although honoraria (modest stipends not meant as a courtesy and 
not to compensate for the editor's professional time) still 
exist, it is increasingly common for the publisher to pay salary 
support for an editor. Medical schools generally do not allow 
faculty to work on journals uncompensated. They expect to be paid 
for time that the editor would otherwise have available to see 
patients or conduct research.

What David describes may still exist in basic sciences and other 
fields; in medical publishing, the practice of allowing faculty 
to work uncompensated is long gone. The new motto is: Show me the 
money.  Peter Banks


On 7/18/06 7:15 PM, "Anthony Watkinson" <anthony.watkinson@btopenworld.com>
wrote:

> I am sorry but this is just not correct. Building models of how 
> much publishers contribute to the information chain is not 
> helped by inaccurate statements. Expenses are expenses and 
> honoraria are something different - as the tax authorities 
> recognise. Let us call them fees if that is clearer.
> 
> I can imnmediately think of a clinical journal where the 
> publisher fee explicitly buys the time which would otherwise be 
> spent earning from private practice. Quite a number of editors 
> of journals retire early because the income from the journal 
> (the honorarium) enables them to live in comfort while drawing 
> their pension. This is not a practice that publishers should 
> encourage but it does happen - quite a lot.
> 
> I am reviewing journals that fit these specifications in my 
> mind as I write but it is impossible to go into any more detail 
> because any specific information even if disguised might be 
> recognised and these matters are highly sensitive. I am of 
> course aware that David Goodman is serving all of us in trying 
> to tease out these questions, which is why his initial 
> statement surprised me.
> 
> Anthony Watkinson
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> 
> From: "David Goodman" <dgoodman@Princeton.EDU>
> To: <liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu>
> Sent: Monday, July 17, 2006 4:45 AM
> Subject: Re: Maximising research access vs. minimizing copy-editing errors
> 
>> The previous poster is quibbling. Honoria are so called because
>> they are honorary. They are not salaries from which one can
>> make a living.
>> 
>> I do not intend to post on this further. We have gotten much
>> too far from the issue, which is the difficult question of what
>> is the true contribution of a publisher of a scholarly journal
>> 
>> Dr. David Goodman
>> Associate Professor
>> Palmer School of Library and Information Science
>> Long Island University
>> and formerly
>> Princeton University Library
>> dgoodman@liu.edu
>> dgoodman@princeton.edu