The attached article will be published in Learned Publishing (UK) in April 2003, their issue Volume 16, No 2. Under the agreement with Learned Publishing the article has been deposited in the ANU E-Press Archive at: http://eprints.anu.edu.au/documents/disk0/00/00/10/32/index.html
Abstract "There is significant evidence that traditional university presses are continuing to face financial crises. Outlets for research monographs are drying up, print runs are being reduced and monograph costs are increasing. The combination of the digital networked environment and open archive initiatives may, however, provide the opportunity, through institutional repositories, to rethink the role and nature of the distribution of research monographs in a University setting. The adoption of new models, untrammelled by the structures of the past, while still retaining editorial and refereeing standards, could revolutionise the access and distribution patterns of research knowledge within university frameworks. Ultimate success will depend however on programs of scholarly advocacy in scholarly communication with the academic author as both creator and as consumer." One interesting aspect is how the new models for consortial monograph acquisition, eg Oxford Scholarship Online will replicate, although hopefully not in price, the models of serial acquistion including indexing and abstracting of chapters. Long term impacts on ultimate monograph narrative writing should be interesting to monitor and the impact on the independent scholar. In the past the latter could walk into libraries and read a book, but on the subscription model, only authenticated users will gain access to the content. Walk-in privileges should be interesting. Similarly libraries will face increasing problems in terms of explaining to their users the variety of access mechanisms of E-Book offerings by commercial publishers and their need to "lock up text" in a variety of models to maximise profits in the monograph area (replicating the serials situation). The institutional repository developments - 2003 has seen the establishment of the ANU and Monash E-Presses - will include a whole variety of offerings like California E-Scholarship, ranging from free-to-air to refereed on-line monographs. It may now be time to devote more focused collective attention to consideration of the developing monograph situations as well as serials in the digital environment? Colin Steele Director Scholarly Information Strategies Division of Information W.K. Hancock Building (043) The Australian National University Canberra ACT 0200 Australia Tel +61 (0)2 612 58983 Fax +61 (0)2 612 55526 Email: colin.ste...@anu.edu.au Library Web: http://anulib.anu.edu.au/