Re: Information Access Alliance Urges DOJ & FTC to Explore Remedies for Journal Bundling: Comments Available on Web

[David Goodman <dgoodman@Princeton.EDU>]

I am sure Anthony meant to praise me, but I only support the 
continuation of those elements that will prove to have 
cost-effective functionality, and it will be up to them to 
demonstrate it.

I reject altogether the continuation of the present system of 
access, which is a system of subscription based access. I do not 
see how it can possibly be made either efficient or fair, or how 
it can provide the needed access to all users. No amount of extra 
funding of libraries will change this, nor any adjustments of big 
deals. It was necessary for technical reasons to compromise it in 
the print days, but it is not necessary now.

Big deals were originally instituted to increase consistency of 
revenue for the publishers in exchange for offering libraries 
access to more subscription titles. Both reasons are now 
obsolete. There is now no reason to have subscription titles at 
all, and no reason to reward publishers for providing them. 
Library money could be more usefully spent in subsidizing open 
access publishing, but the effect of long-term contracts is to 
reduce the amount of money available for this.

For now, the use for any funding that may be available is to 
develop OA--the most critical immediate goal for the scientific 
information system. The money spent for efficiently managing 
access would be better spent in eliminating the need to manage 
access.

It is time we stopped figuring out how to prop up the old 
subscription-based system, or how to optimize it. It is not worth 
optimizing. It will be easier as well as more satisfactory to 
replace it, and we acquired the knowledge to do so.  The next 
step is to find temporary funding for the transition, and here 
the question of continuing big deals is indeed relevant. They 
provided stability for the highest priced publishers while they 
existed. They will make large amounts of temporary funding for 
other things when they end. The place to get the money is where 
the money is.

David Goodman, Ph.D., M.L.S.
dgoodman@princeton.edu

----- Original Message -----
From: Anthony Watkinson <anthony.watkinson@btopenworld.com>
Date: Sunday, February 11, 2007 4:35 pm
Subject: Re: Information Access Alliance Urges DOJ & FTC to  Explore Remedies for Journal Bundling:
Comments Available on Web
To: liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu

> My understanding from the postings of David Goodman is that he 
> sees this problem and argues for a cut down version of the 
> current system - which is honest and productive but is probably 
> (a guess) not wished for by many other scholars.
>
> Anthony Watkinson
> Centre for Publishing
> University College London