Re: Stop fighting the inevitable - and free funds for openaccess!

["Marc Brodsky" <brodsky@aip.org>]

There seems to be some misunderstanding of publisher positions on 
open access. Many publishers are trying, even embracing real open 
access options for authors within the environment of high 
quality, highly read journals. For example, we at the American 
Institute of Physics offer Author Select, an open access option, 
for all our journals. We even lowered fees last this year 
crossing below the raised fees of some ardent OA advocates.

The real issue is whether governments should create unfunded 
mandates that force business models such as 6 or 12 month limits 
on those who have a different publishing model.

Let the market, not the government, decide what authors and 
readers want and need. Once the government decides, if things do 
not work out, we are really stuck.

Marc

>>> Heather Morrison <heatherm@eln.bc.ca> 1/25/2007 7:17 PM >>>

There are some in the publishing community who are spending 
significant sums fighting open access - for example, Nature 
recently reported that AAP spent $300,000 - $500,000 in 2006, as 
reported in their article, PR's "pitbull" takes on open access - 
January 25, 2007.

Funds that are currently being spent fighting open access are 
funds that are not really needed for publishing per se, and so it 
is reasonable to ask, what might be accomplished if funds were 
redirected from fighting open access, to implementing OA?

[SNIP]

Heather G. Morrison