Re: PostGutenberg Copyrights and Wrongs for Give-Away Research

From: Albert Henderson <chessNIC_at_COMPUSERVE.COM>
Date: Wed, 27 Jun 2001 16:54:17 -0400

on Tue, 26 Jun 2001 Christopher D. Green <christo_at_YORKU.CA> wrote:

> Albert Henderson wrote:
>
> > Money is not the only token of value. One of the key
> > fallacies that burdens this forum is the failure to
> > recognize the economic exchanges that course through
> > the research communication process. Publishers exchange
> > recognition and dissemination services for the copyrights
> > of the articles they publish. Every economist I know agrees.
>
> Problem is, the *publisher* confers nothing of the kind. The "extra value" if
> provided by the scholars who serve as editors, reviewers, etc., and just like the
> authors, they typically do so at no cost to the pubisher. Nice work if you can get
> it.

        More than nice, vital. The Indian Academay of Sciences started its own
        physics journal, PRAMANA, because European and American journals did
        not sufficiently engage Indian scientists in peer review. I have no
        doubt that the need to participate was a factor in the creation of
        PHYSICAL REVIEW in 1893 (funded by Macmillan) when the U.S. was far
        from the mainstream of science and there was no American Physical
        Society. I also have no doubt that the development of the American
        Physical Society was hastened by the willingness of Macmillan to
        provide financial and organizational support for the new journal.

        Best wishes,

Albert Henderson
<70244.1532_at_compuserve.com>
Received on Wed Jan 03 2001 - 19:17:43 GMT