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RE: DeepDyve thread

I agree.  I think the reaction and judgment so far has been 
hasty.

DeepDyve is currently targeting a non-institutional market.  One 
value-add is the discovery interface for folks who don't have 
access to a library interface or a library-souped google 
interface -- a good idea given their market.  When, occasionally, 
an article is $.99 through DeepDyve and free at the publisher 
site, their argument is that the user is paying for the discovery 
layer.  I think this would have been a nice resource when I was 
working in market research since we often needed to do literature 
searches.

This could work in an academic setting potentially (if centrally 
billed on IP range access).  As university libraries 
follow-through on cancellation projects in this budget year and 
probably next, it would be nice if there was a way to continue 
providing access to library patrons.  Would seem to be a good 
idea for publishers insofar as they'd retain some income, rather 
than none, though that argument applies best to low use journals. 
For high-use journals, some publishers might be tentative, though 
bigger brands will have higher usage, so higher income. 
Libraries, for their part, would want access to go through the 
library's discovery interface, so that patrons don't accidentally 
rent articles the library has already bought.

I contacted them to find out more.  They will be adding more 
publishers over time, so we'll see what comes next -- I think 
they'll become more compelling as they add content.

-Nat

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu
[mailto:owner-liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu] On Behalf Of Joseph Esposito
Sent: Tuesday, November 03, 2009 5:26 PM
To: liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu
Subject: DeepDyve thread

I have been following the discussion on this list and at 
ScholarlyKitchen concerning DeepDyve with great interest, as I 
have been an advisor to DD for several years.  I was only 
peripherally involved with DD's new service (jocularly known as 
"Netflix for research"), but it's clear that some of the comments 
to date have the facts wrong.  The DD CEO, Bill Park, has written 
a blog that addresses some of the controversy, which you can find 
at http://blog.deepdyve.com.

Note that the $.99 article rental program is but one of several 
revenue streams for DD, whose underlying technology is 
pattern-recognition software that was developed by IT 
professionals who were building tools for genetic research. This 
is pretty cool stuff if you are of a geeky persuasion.

Joe Esposito