RE: RCUK policy on open access

["David Goodman" <David.Goodman@liu.edu>]

It is not useful to complain about the actions (or non-action) of 
governmental and quasi-governmental bodies. They are not 
primarily concerned with either the promotion or the diffusion of 
academic research.

Academic administrators should be so concerned, but centuries of 
experience has shown otherwise. There are of course honorable 
exceptions that prove action possible --the Wellcome, CERN, and a 
handful of universities, such as Queensland). I doubt any of us 
agrees with all the details of any of these, but nonethess they 
have achieved the key point--essentially 100% OA for the 
publications within their control.

Preliminary expressions showing correct understanding and even 
general agreement do not make a policy. Why should anyone have 
expected more from the RCUK than another study?

Those who wait for positive implementation from such sources will 
indeed become "Impatient Archivangelist[s]"

Dr. David Goodman
Palmer School of Library and Information Science
Long Island University
dgoodman@liu.edu
dgoodman@princeton.edu