On 26-May-04, at 1:56 PM, David Goodman wrote:
Is it the library that is responsible for the cost of self-archiving? Is it the library that runs the server, or pays for the Internet connection? Is it the library that does the proofreading, or scans the photographs?
Many libraries do have responsibilities for archiving, whether original or published materials. For authors who are self-archiving current publications, it makes sense to ask the publisher for an electronic copy of the completed, post peer-review work. When self-archiving preprints, the author should be responsible for proofreading, and articles should be supplied in electronic form. For older articles, it may well make sense for libraries to scan, proofread, etc. Libraries do scan older materials to create digital libraries, both to preserve the content of fragile materials such as older paper materials, and to make them more accessible. The involvement of libraries in preservation of materials is not new; if I understand my library history correctly, keeping records was one of the original reasons for the development of libraries. An institutional repository is merely a new form of collection of information. Who is better suited to handle the responsibility of developing and preserving collections, and making them accessible, than the library? Aside from the open access benefits of institutional repositories, there are other benefits for the institution. What better way to illustrate the research of your university than by pointing with pride to your organization's collected works? This is not meant to downplay the importance of open access publishing. Even when publishing in an open access publication, however, I would suggest that authors should also self-archive. a personal view, Heather G. Morrison Project Coordinator BC Electronic Library Network ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Phone: 604-268-7001 Fax: 604-291-3023 Email: heath...@eln.bc.ca Web: http://www.eln.bc.ca