Re: Stop fighting the inevitable - and free funds for open access!

[Sandy Thatcher <sgt3@psu.edu>]

Or you could let the government try its hand at this business, 
mess it up (as it usually does), and then pick up the pieces when 
the government realizes why it can't make this business work well 
given its many bureaucratized (and political) handicaps. :)

Sandy Thatcher
Penn State University Press

> There seems to be some misunderstanding of publisher positions 
> on open access. Many publishers are trying, even embracing real 
> open access options for authors within the environment of high 
> quality, highly read journals. For example, we at the American 
> Institute of Physics offer Author Select, an open access option, 
> for all our journals. We even lowered fees last this year 
> crossing below the raised fees of some ardent OA advocates.
>
> The real issue is whether governments should create unfunded 
> mandates that force business models such as 6 or 12 month limits 
> on those who have a different publishing model.
>
> Let the market, not the government, decide what authors and 
> readers want and need. Once the government decides, if things do 
> not work out, we are really stuck.
>
> Marc
>
> > > >  Heather Morrison <heatherm@eln.bc.ca> 1/25/2007 7:17 PM >>>
> There are some in the publishing community who are spending
> significant sums fighting open access - for example, Nature
> recently reported that AAP spent $300,000 - $500,000 in 2006, as
> reported in their article, PR's "pitbull" takes on open access -
> January 25, 2007.
>
> Funds that are currently being spent fighting open access are
> funds that are not really needed for publishing per se, and so it
> is reasonable to ask, what might be accomplished if funds were
> redirected from fighting open access, to implementing OA?
>
> [SNIP]
>
> Heather G. Morrison