RE: Self-Archiving and Journal Subscriptions: Critique of PRC

["Rick Anderson" <rickand@unr.edu>]

> But money spent on 'gold' OA is not 'removed' from research,
> particularly not if you understand and accept that formally
> publishing the results is integral to doing research.

That's a political argument -- a "should" argument -- rather than 
a statement of fact.  This is a statement of fact: it costs a 
certain amount of money to create information by performing 
research, and it is entirely possible (whether or not desirable) 
to do research and then publish nothing.  If you choose to 
publish the results of your research, additional costs will be 
involved.  There are many granting agencies that have 
traditionally provided money to support the creation of 
information through research, but not the formal publication or 
distribution of it.  There may be good arguments for having those 
granting agencies start funding the second part as well -- but 
there's no way for them to do so without redirecting money from 
their support of actual research.  A good argument, it seems to 
me, would need to demonstrate that the general welfare is better 
served by the free distribution of less information than it is by 
the creation of more information.

By the way, I'm happy to keep rephrasing this basic point as many 
times as it takes.  :-)

---
Rick Anderson
Dir. of Resource Acquisition
University of Nevada, Reno Libraries
rickand@unr.edu