RE: Library subscription rebates for Open Choice content

[Aline Soules <aline.soules@csueastbay.edu>]

This is very interesting because when I attended the ACRL SPARC 
meeting on open access to hear speakers from PLoS, BioMed 
Central, and Hindawi, the Hindawi person suggested that he didn't 
know what the role for libraries would be in the new order that's 
emerging, but that one role might be to pay the authors' fees for 
those authors who don't have a grant.  Of course, I objected to 
this idea because the last thing we need as librarians is to be 
the gatekeeper for fees.

This idea will simply reward those who have the money to pay the 
subscriptions while penalizing further those authors who are not 
affiliated with institutions or grants that have the money to pay 
authors fees on their behalf.  This will create a bigger rift 
between the haves and have-nots.

Aline Soules
Cal State East Bay
aline.soules@csueastbay.edu

-----Original Message-----
[mailto:owner-liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu] On Behalf Of Liblicense-L
Listowner
Sent: Monday, July 16, 2007 9:09 AM
To: liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu
Subject: Library subscription rebates for Open Choice content

Dear Readers:  Various of our journal contracts now state that 
where authors pay for Open Choice (or something like it, i.e., 
cover costs of publication of their articles to be free to all 
readers worldwide), library subscriptions will be rebated for the 
equivalent.

Questions:

1.  How do you all imagine this will work in real life?

2.  Has it happened already, i.e., has Open Choice or Author 
Choice or whatever, been around for long enough?  Or, will it 
happen as of 2008 and if so, what are publishers preparing to do 
to adjust 2008 subscriptions?

Thank you, Ann Okerson/Yale Library