AAUP Statement on Open Access

[Stevan Harnad <harnad@ecs.soton.ac.uk>]

The AAUP Statement on Open Access says nothing more than what was 
already said in this Forum by Sandy Thatcher of AAUP: Some 
similar questions arise with monographs.

http://www.ecs.soton.ac.uk/%7Eharnad/Hypermail/Amsci/subject.html#5926

But the primary target of the OA movement is peer-reviewed 
journal articles, which are all author give-aways, written only 
for usage and impact, not for fees or royalties.

Not so for all (or even most) monographs.

And a monograph is a much bigger cost and investment for the 
publisher than a journal articles.

Hence, though analogies there may be, on no account should the 
straightforward momentum of OA self-archiving (of articles) be 
held back by linking it with the complicated question of OA 
monographs.

And researchers' funders and employers can and should (and will) 
mandate the OA self-archiving of all their fundees'/employees' 
articles, but they certainly can't wont' and shouldn't mandate 
that all their fundees'/employees' *books* must be self-archived!

Stevan Harnad

PS: Let's wait till we have safely mandated 100% Green OA for all 
articles, and then let's worry about books, Gold OA publishing, 
peer-review reform, copyright reform, and all those other good 
things. Let's stop letting them continue to hold OA back from the 
optimal and inevitable.

On Wed, 28 Feb 2007, Sandy Thatcher wrote:

> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
> Contact: Brenna McLaughlin
> 212-989-1010 x24, bmclaughlin@aaupnet.org
>
> AAUP RELEASES STATEMENT ON OPEN ACCESS
> Nonprofit Scholarly Publishers Call for Exploration of Open Access
> Models to Improve Scholarly Communications
>
> NEW YORK (February 27, 2007) - Discussions of the concept of open
> access to scholarly information are increasingly marked by highly
> charged rhetoric and an unfortunate polarization of opinion. The
> Association of American University Presses (AAUP) released a
> statement today outlining the association's perspective on what
> has become known as open access, and hopes to help steer the
> debate towards productive solutions that will best serve the
> entire scholarly community.
>
> Read the complete statement online at:
> http://aaupnet.org/aboutup/issues/oa/statement.pdf
>
> Until quite recently, the debate has centered on one type of
> scholarly literature, scientific, technical, and medical (STM)
> journal articles, and one particular definition, entirely
> free-to-user, of "open access." AAUP believes that the
> conversation should expand to address the different creation and
> distribution needs of scholarly literature in all fields and
> formats, including monographs, and to consider a variety of
> models for providing open access-all of which entail risks and
> benefits to the entire system of scholarly communications that
> are not yet fully understood.
>
> Knowledge carries costs for its production, and requires-in
> addition to the scholar's own work-knowledgeable editorial
> selection and careful vetting, and-regardless of a final digital
> or print format-quality in copyediting, design, production, and
> distribution. Many universities and scholarly societies have made
> significant investments in their presses and in the professional
> expertise of publishing staffs in order to support the spread of
> knowledge worldwide. Changing the system of scholarly
> communications requires us to take careful stock of the costs of
> doing so-not just for presses, but for parent universities,
> scholarly societies and their members, and all other universities
> and research institutions that benefit from the distribution of
> scholarship.
>
> The AAUP recognizes that non-profit scholarly publishers have an
> obligation to confront the economic, legal, technological, and
> philosophical challenges to the existing system. Indeed, while
> proud of their past achievements, university presses and
> scholarly societies have never been averse to change. Being
> embedded in the culture of higher education that values
> experimentation and advances in knowledge, presses have been open
> to new ways of facilitating scholarly communications. Many AAUP
> members have begun experimenting with varieties of open access
> that seek to balance the mission of scholarly exchange with its
> costs. The AAUP and its member presses welcome the opportunity to
> participate with all willing partners to expand and strengthen
> scholarly communications, to serve our mission and to improve the
> system for all.
>
> The complete statement is online at:
> http://aaupnet.org/aboutup/issues/oa/statement.pdf
>
> The Association of American University Presses (AAUP) is a
> membership organization representing 112 not-for-profit scholarly
> publishers in the United States and an additional 15
> international scholarly publishers. These publishers are
> affiliated with research universities, scholarly societies,
> foundations, museums, and other research institutions. The
> mission of AAUP members is to serve an effective and creative
> system of scholarly communications and advance the knowledge of
> all peoples through their publications. The AAUP assists our
> members' fulfilment of this mission through services and
> advocacy.
>
> ******************