Re: Librarians, Publishing Behavior, & Open Access

[Samuel Trosow <strosow@uwo.ca>]

I wholly concur with the concerns being raised by here by Bernie and Jill.
I think it's scandalous that ALA has such a poor record on this issue. I
think the problem is that many divisions see their publications as revenue
centers, not as public service publications. It really clouds ALA's
legitimacy as a leading proponent for open access, which is really a
shame.  Furthermore, in terms of their author agreements, their practices
leave a lot to be desired.  Last year I had an article in "Public
Libraries." The author agreement they sent me was just horrendous, I
marked it all up with changes and returned it. They responded by just
sending me a clean license agreement which I was pleased to sign. Why
would they first send authors a contract that is overreaching (asking for
a full assignment of all rights, but then be prepared to send a more
author-friendly agreement (giving them the limited right to first
publication) only if one balks?

I for one plan on pursuing this issue internally within ALA. Any other ALA
members have any thoughts on this issue?

Sam Trosow
University of Western Ontario