RE: Article in "Inside HigherEd"

["David Prosser" <david.prosser@bodley.ox.ac.uk>]

Even assuming that academics are as narrow-minded as Joe suggests 
- they only read papers in brands they recognise and take no new 
knowledge from other sources - then the branded knowledge is 
useless if you can't get access to that knowledge.  That's why we 
bang on endlessly about the importance of access.

Sally is, of course, right that systems can be developed that 
allow machines to read for free but not humans.  I must admit 
that I find something slightly perverse about that notion, but 
leaving that to one side I would note that what we have at the 
moment from many publishers are systems that forbid machines to 
data-mine even when the content has been paid for by humans.

David

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu
[mailto:owner-liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu] On Behalf Of Joseph Esposito
Sent: 25 March 2009 22:23
To: liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu
Subject: RE: Article in "Inside HigherEd"

A brand is the best tool of all.  Brands are exclusionary:  This
is worth reading, this is not worth reading.  An authoritative
brand is of great value to readers.  Access is not the problem,
selection is.

Joe Esposito


-----Original Message-----
From: owner-liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu
[mailto:owner-liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu] On Behalf Of David Prosser
Sent: Tuesday, March 24, 2009 3:34 PM
To: liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu
Subject: RE: Article in "Inside HigherEd"

Surely Joe the answer is simple.  Any smart tools that we build 
to help with the information overload are going to have to have 
access to the information.  Of course you can start with what is 
licensed by your local library, or what's in the abstract, or 
what the keywords are.  But the tools will work better and have 
greater efficiency if they have access to all the literature.

(Just as data-mining tools work better with greater access.) And 
then, if the wondrous tools find something that you think is of 
interest to you, don't you want access?

David C Prosser
Director, SPARC Europe

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu
[mailto:owner-liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu] On Behalf Of Joseph Esposito
Sent: 23 March 2009 23:22
To: liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu
Subject: Article in "Inside HigherEd"

See Ken Coates's piece in "Inside HigherEd":]

http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2009/03/23/coates#Comments

The title is "Knowledge Overload."

My question, which I have been asking for 5 years now, is, Why does anybody
believe that access is the key problem?

Joe Esposito