Re: Authors rights: Going too far

[Kevin L Smith <kevin.l.smith@duke.edu>]

I fail to see what is disconcerting here.  Nothing in Ms. 
Morrison's comment suggests that librarians would "insinuate 
themselves" into the contract negotiations between authors and 
publishers, although I think some such intervention would be 
justified and useful.  Nevertheless, all Ms. Morrison suggests is 
that, when collection librarians make decisions about how to 
spend a university's funds most responsibly, they should consider 
the overall congruence between a publisher's policies and the 
fundamental interests of the university.  In short, universities 
should spend their money in a way that best serves their own 
needs.  Author's could still publish wherever they choose, but 
libraries would give preference in acquisitions to those 
publishers who treat academic authors with respect.  It hardly 
requires a law degree to see the sense in that.

Kevin L. Smith, J.D.
Scholarly Communications Officer
Perkins Library, Duke University
Durham, NC  27708
kevin.l.smith@duke.edu
http://library.duke.edu/blogs/scholcomm/


"Joseph J. Esposito" <espositoj@gmail.com>
Sent by: owner-liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu
03/12/2008 06:29 PM
Please respond to liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu

Heather Morrison wrote:

"Perhaps it is timely for collections librarians to add Author's 
Rights as a key criterion, when evaluating journal subscriptions 
to add, or to cancel?"

JE:  Perhaps some lawyers on this list would like to offer a 
point of view, but this suggestion seems to me to go too far. It 
is disconcerting to suggest that librarians insinuate themselves 
in the contracts between authors and publishers, whose dealings 
are a private matter.

Joe Esposito