The access problem -- small, medium, or large?

[Jim Stemper <stemp003@umn.edu>]

On Mon, 10 May 2010 19:42:28 EDT, Joseph Esposito
<espositoj@gmail.com>wrote:
"Harnad is hoping to replace the small problem of access with the
large problem of fiscal recklessness."


The Research Information Network's 2009 study "Overcoming 
Barriers:  Access to Research Information Content" goes to some 
lengths to show that the access problem is not "small."  Some 
excerpts:  Of the 800 respondents, over 40% said that they were 
unable readily to access licensed content at least weekly; and 
two-thirds at least monthly.  The key reasons for failing to 
secure access were perceived to be [...] that the library had not 
purchased a licence for the content, because of budgetary 
constraints (56%).  Around 59 per cent of respondents thought 
that non-availability of content does have some impact on their 
research, while 18 per cent say the impact is 'significant' 
either in terms of timing and/or comprehensiveness and/or other 
quality impact.