Re: A thought about H.R. 2281

["THOMAS SANDERS" <tsanders@lib.auburn.edu>]

I would agree that academic authors do not expect to be paid for most 
of their publications.  In fact some are still paying page charges to 
see their material in print.  (Obviously this does not apply to 
authors of textbooks and like material.)  In most academic settings 
I know of, faculty publication is taken into account as a vital 
aspect of tenure, promotion, salary and allocation of other 
resources.  It is also a major factor in obtaining grants for many 
faculty in subject areas where grants provide substantial funding.  
It is fairly common for research and publication to be seen as 
conditions of employment.  And academic authors are normally involved 
in education; publication is easily seen as an aspect of educating 
others (including "giving back to the profession").  

It is for these reasons that I am still hopeful that a long term 
solution will be to return to past practices of universities and 
associations (or consortia of such) of direct publication of academic 
works, removing the commercial middle man.  The move to digital 
information might enable such a development.  On the other side, the 
increasing demand for interactivity of electronic resources may 
move us even further in the direction of consolidation of academic 
publications in the hands of a few fabulously profitable commercial 
publishers.