In particular, the fact that present copyright law enables one to make money from one's journal articles is not part of academic freedom.
Also note that Willinsky's copyright reform proposal does not create a journal selection limitation, because it applies to all journals. The proposal is to shorten the term of the copyright granted to the author. This copyright transfers to any publisher that requires it as a condition of publication. David Dr. David Wojick http://insidepublicaccess.com/ On Mar 24, 2018, at 4:07 AM, Danny Kingsley <da...@cam.ac.uk> wrote: > Hi all, > > > > Can we have a quick chat about Academic Freedom? I am frankly fed up with > this being trotted out in multiple discussions in relation to open access. It > is akin to the PhD student who recently tearfully told me that the > University’s requirement for her to provide a digital version of her thesis > in addition to the hardbound one was a ‘breach of her human rights’. I feel > the academic freedom argument is moving into similar levels of hysteria. > > I wrote a blog recently that addresses this issue: Scare campaigns, we have > seen a few https://unlockingresearch-blog.lib.cam.ac.uk/?p=1905 (relevant > bits below) > > Usually I hear ‘Academic Freedom’ thrown in in relation to being able to > choose where to publish. On the SCHOLCOMM and GOAL lists in the discussion > about Willinsky’s copyright proposal, academic freedom has been thrown into > the mix again. Given, there is potentially some validity in the statement > that: “Policies that impact academics that are not developed and supported by > academics are not consistent with academic freedom.” But copyright ownership > (other than the moral right to be identified as an author of a work), and the > place of publication are NOT enshrined in academic freedom. > > > > Academic Freedom is not being threatened by copyright licensing requirements. > This is a stupid side issue. We are fiddling while Rome burns. The real > threat to academic freedom is the systematic undermining of expertise and > academia. As the UK justice secretary recently said - “People in this country > have had enough of experts” > https://www.ft.com/content/3be49734-29cb-11e6-83e4-abc22d5d108c Let’s not > even begin to talk about what is happening in the land of stripes and stars. > > > > Let’s keep focus on the issues that matter. > > > > Danny > > > > ***************************************** > > The new scare – threats to ‘Academic Freedom’ > > The term ‘Academic Freedom’ comes up a fair bit in discussions about open > access. In his tweet sent during the Researcher to Reader conference*, one > of my Advisory Board colleagues Rick Anderson tweeted this comment: > > “Most startling thing said to me in conversation at the #R2RConf: > “I wonder how much longer academic freedom will be tolerated in IHEs.” > (Specific context: authors being allowed to choose where they publish.) > > In this blog I’d like to pick up on the ‘Academic Freedom’ part of the > comment (which is not Rick’s, he was quoting). > > Academic Freedom, according to a summary in the Times Higher Education is > primarily that “Academic freedom means that both faculty members and students > can engage in intellectual debate without fear of censorship or retaliation”. > > This definition was based on the American Association of University > Professors’ (AAUP) Statement on Academic Freedom which includes, quite > specifically, “full freedom in research and in the publication of results”. > > Personally I read that as meaning academics should be allowed to publish, not > that they have full freedom in choosing where. > > Rick has since contacted the AAUP to ask for clarification on this topic. > Last Friday, he tweeted that the AAUP has declined to revisit the 1940 > statement to clarify the ‘freedom in publication’ statement in light of > evolution of scholarly communication since 1940. > > The reason why the Academic Freedom/ ‘restricting choice of publication’ > threat(s) is so concerning to the research community has changed over time. > In the past it was essential to be able to publish in specific outlets > because colleagues would only read certain publications. Those publications > were effectively the academic ‘voice’. However today, with online publication > and search engines this argument no longer holds. > > What does matter however is the publication in certain journals is necessary > because of the way people are valued and rewarded. The problem is not open > access, the problem is the reward system to which we are beholden. And the > commercial publishing industry is fully aware of this. > > So let’s be clear. Academic Freedom is about freedom of expression rather > than freedom of publication outlet and ties into Robert Merton’s 1942 norms > of science which are: > > § “communalism”: all scientists should have common ownership of scientific > goods (intellectual property), to promote collective collaboration; secrecy > is the opposite of this norm. > > § universalism: scientific validity is independent of the sociopolitical > status/personal attributes of its participants > > § disinterestedness: scientific institutions act for the benefit of a common > scientific enterprise, rather than for the personal gain of individuals > within them > > § organized scepticism: scientific claims should be exposed to critical > scrutiny before being accepted: both in methodology and institutional codes > of conduct. > > If a publisher is preventing a researcher from publishing in a journal based > on their funding or institutional policy rather than the content of the work > being submitted then this is entirely in contravention of all of Robert > Merton’s norms of science. But the publisher is not, as it happens, > threatening the Academic Freedom of that author. > > > > > > > > > > Dr Danny Kingsley > > Deputy Director - Scholarly Communication & Research Services > > Head, Office of Scholarly Communication > > Cambridge University Library > > West Road, CB3 9DR > > e: da...@cam.ac.uk > > p: 01223 747 437 > > m: 07711 500 564 > > t: @dannykay68 > > w: www.osc.cam.ac.uk > > b: https://unlockingresearch.blog.lib.cam.ac.uk > > o: orcid.org/0000-0002-3636-5939 > > > > <image001.png>
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