I saw that, and sent them a note about my prediction of Open Access in a 1992 market research report I wrote for BIS CAP, now GIGA Information Group.
On Wed, Apr 25, 2012 at 00:57, Cable Green <ca...@creativecommons.org>wrote: > > > http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/apr/24/harvard-university-journal-publishers-prices > [image: The Guardian home] <http://www.guardiannews.com/> > > > Harvard University says it can't afford journal publishers' prices > University wants scientists to make their research open access and resign > from publications that keep articles behind paywalls > > - Ian Sample <http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/iansample>, science > correspondent > - guardian.co.uk <http://www.guardian.co.uk/>, Tuesday 24 April 2012 > 12.45 EDT > - Article > history<http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/apr/24/harvard-university-journal-publishers-prices/print#history-link-box> > > A memo from Harvard's faculty advisory council said major scientific > publishers had made scholarly communication 'fiscally unsustainable'. > Photograph: Corbis > > Exasperated by rising subscription costs charged by academic publishers, > Harvard > University <http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/harvard-university> has > encouraged its faculty members to make their research freely available > through open access journals and to resign from publications that keep > articles behind paywalls. > > A memo from Harvard > Library<http://isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k77982&tabgroupid=icb.tabgroup143448> > to > the university's 2,100 teaching and research staff called for action after > warning it could no longer afford the price hikes imposed by many large > journal publishers, which bill the library around $3.5m a year. > > The extraordinary move thrusts one of the world's wealthiest and most > prestigious institutions into the centre of an increasingly fraught debate > over access to the results of academic research, much of which is funded by > the taxpayer. > > The outcome of Harvard's decision to take on the publishers will be > watched closely by major universities around the world and is likely to > prompt others to follow suit. > > The memo from Harvard's faculty advisory council said major publishers had > created an "untenable situation" at the university by making scholarly > interaction "fiscally unsustainable" and "academically restrictive", while > drawing profits of 35% or more. Prices for online access to articles from > two major publishers have increased 145% over the past six years, with some > journals costing as much as $40,000, the memo said. > > More than 10,000 academics have already joined a boycott of > Elsevier<http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/apr/09/frustrated-blogpost-boycott-scientific-journals>, > the huge Dutch publisher, in protest at its journal pricing and access > policies. Many university libraries pay more than half of their journal > budgets to the publishers Elsevier, Springer and Wiley. > > Robert Darnton <http://history.fas.harvard.edu/people/faculty/darnton.php>, > director of Harvard Library told the Guardian: "I hope that other > universities will take similar action. We all face the same paradox. We > faculty do the research, write the papers, referee papers by other > researchers, serve on editorial boards, all of it for free … and then we > buy back the results of our labour at outrageous prices. > > "The system is absurd, and it is inflicting terrible damage on libraries. > One year's subscription to The Journal of Comparative > Neurology<http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/%28ISSN%291096-9861> > costs > the same as 300 monographs. We simply cannot go on paying the increase in > subscription prices. In the long run, the answer will be open-access > journal publishing, but we need concerted effort to reach that goal." > > In traditional journal publishing, researchers submit articles to editors > who send them out for peer review, a task that is usually unpaid. The final > versions of the articles are then formatted and sold back to university > libraries. Open access comes in various guises, but one model requires > authors to pay to have their articles published and made freely available > to anyone. > > According to the Harvard memo, journal subscriptions are now so high that > to continue them "would seriously erode collection efforts in many other > areas, already compromised". The memo asks faculty members to encourage > their professional organisations to take control of scholarly publishing, > and to consider submitting their work to open access journals and resigning > from editorial boards of journals that are not open access. > > It adds that the library must insist on transparent contracts that prevent > universities from discussing in public the fees they pay certain publishers. > > In a statement to the Guardian, Elsevier said: "The Harvard Faculty > Advisory Council letter does not specify any specific publisher. We have a > good relationship with the Harvard libraries and have recently concluded an > agreement we believe works for them as it gives them the flexibility to > choose the titles they want. > > "We do not believe that the facts in the letter which relate to price > increases pertain to Elsevier. Elsevier's average print list price > increases have consistently been among the lowest in the industry for the > past several years, averaging around 5%." > > The statement concluded: "We believe Harvard will continue to see the > value in publishing in Elsevier journals, which include a range of access > options, and contributing as editors." > > David Prosser <http://www.rluk.ac.uk/node/371>, executive director of > Research Libraries UK (RLUK), said: "Harvard has one of the richest > libraries in the world. If Harvard can't afford to purchase all the > journals their researchers need, what hope do the rest of us have? > > "There's always been a problem with this being seen as a library budget > issue. The memo from Harvard makes clear that it's bigger than that. It's > at the heart of education and research. If you can't get access to the > literature, it hurts research." > > RLUK negotiated new contracts with Elsevier and Wiley last year after the > group threatened to cancel large subscriptions to the publishers. The new > deal, organised on behalf of 30 member libraries, is expected to save UK > institutions more than £20m. > > "The better deals have given us a little breathing space, but they don't > solve the problem. There is a long-term structural problem with this market > that isn't going to be solved that simply," Prosser said. > > Heather Joseph <http://www.arl.org/sparc/about/staff/joseph.shtml>, > executive director of the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources > Coalition, a US-based international library membership organisation, said > other universities may follow Harvard's lead. > > "Highlighting the role of the faculty is exactly what we need to do. > Libraries have been trying to ring the alarm bell about this for a while, > but it's the faculty members who are the producers and consumers of the > articles. They have got the keys to making significant change in this > market. Having Harvard call this out in front of the faculty is a very > significant move." > > She added: "Other universities are likely to follow Harvard's example on > this. If it starts at a university with the stature of Harvard, they will > take a long hard look at whether this is something that makes sense for > them to do as well. People watch Harvard. There's no grey area there." > Heather Joseph > Executive Director, SPARC > 21 Dupont Circle, Suite 800 > Washington, DC 20036 > +1 202 296 2296 > heat...@arl.org > www.arl.org/sparc > > > Heather Joseph > Executive Director, SPARC > 21 Dupont Circle, Suite 800 > Washington, DC 20036 > +1 202 296 2296 > heat...@arl.org > www.arl.org/sparc > > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "SPARC OA Group" group. > To post to this group, send email to sparc-oagr...@arl.org > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > sparc-oagroup+unsubscr...@arl.org > For more options, and to view the archive, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/a/arl.org/group/sparc-oagroup > > You may need to log in to view the archive. If this is required, you will > need a Google account associated with the email address under which you are > subscribed to this group. For more information on creating a Google account > see http://www.google.com/support/accounts/bin/answer.py?answer=27441. > For information on associating an existing Google account with your > subscribed email address see > http://www.google.com/support/accounts/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=86635. > For information on logging into an ARL sponsored group see > https://sites.google.com/a/arl.org/techguides_arl/login. > <https://sites.google.com/a/arl.org/techguides_arl/login.> > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "WikiEducator" group. > To visit wikieducator: http://www.wikieducator.org > To visit the discussion forum: http://groups.google.com/group/wikieducator > To post to this group, send email to wikieducator@googlegroups.com > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > wikieducator-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com -- Edward Mokurai (默雷/निशब्दगर्ज/نشبدگرج) Cherlin Silent Thunder is my name, and Children are my nation. The Cosmos is my dwelling place, the Truth my destination. http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Replacing_Textbooks -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "WikiEducator" group. To visit wikieducator: http://www.wikieducator.org To visit the discussion forum: http://groups.google.com/group/wikieducator To post to this group, send email to wikieducator@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to wikieducator-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com
<<news.gif>>
<<77475156374538664767734144433938.gif>>
