There probably isn't a researcher or scholar alive who wouldn't love to see true open access to scholarly journals -- freely available, immediate electronic access to published, peer-reviewed research articles. And while some open access does exist -- in a limited way to some journals -- the author proposes some ideas for making open access a more universal reality. One plan being implemented by some publishers calls for "author charges" as an alternative to traditional subscriptions. The assumption is that those with vested interests should pay for the distribution of the material, and that government grants and other sources of income will fund these direct payments. Noting that this model is flawed for a variety of reasons, the article suggests instead that alternatives can provide the desired access without destabilizing the system. One interesting idea is to reconsider the entire "publish or perish" focus of the promotion and tenure process. The existing system encourages unlimited scholarly publication, and enormous numbers of editorial boards with little guarantee of quality control from many commercial operations. Ideally, if papers were only being written and published because their authors truly had something to say, everybody would benefit. (Yale University Science Libraries)
posted by Marcus Zillman |
4:00 AM
