re: AAUP Statement on Open Access

[Heather Morrison <heatherm@eln.bc.ca>]

The AAUP Statement on Open Access has very limited relevance to 
discussions on policy for open access to the peer-reviewed 
research results, such as FRPAA.

The focus of open access policy is the journal article, while the 
AAUP Statement mixes all types of publications, and refers 
specifically to monographs.

For example, the summary states (3rd paragraph):  open access 
need not be limited to journals

The Statement (page 3) presents the very interesting information 
that the average production cost for a monograph is about $25,000 
- $30,000 (and would be $20,000 - $25,000 with no print costs).

Statement 4) states that 90% of the operating costs of university 
presses, about $500 million, is derived from sales.  Of the $500 
million, about 15% - 20% are from library sales, while the rest 
comes from general and college bookstores, online retailers, and 
directly to individual scholars.

It seems that the largest portion of operating costs is from book 
sales.  This is an area that would not be at all impacted by open 
access requirement policies by funders, such as FRPAA.

This e-mail reflects my personal opinion only, and does not 
reflect the opinion or policy of BC Electronic Library Network or 
Simon Fraser University Library.

Heather Morrison, M.L.I.S.
Project Coordinator, BC Electronic Library Network
http://poeticeconomics.blogspot.com