Re: OAI and the rational publisher

From: Mark Doyle <doyle_at_APS.ORG>
Date: Tue, 2 Apr 2002 10:49:42 -0500

Hi David,

On Monday, April 1, 2002, at 05:26 PM, David Goodman wrote:

> The solution for a publisher is obvious: it should publish good
> journals, and only good journals. A publisher complaining about the
> threat of OAI suggests that it knows very well that the quality of its
> journals cannot compete.

I don't really think that is universally the case. APS certainly has good
quality journals, but we are still vulnerable to not being able to
continue
to publish the journals in the face of large cancellations. And there has
been a steady decrease in subscriptions (for many reasons, over the last
30 years). It is an economic and financial reality that we don't have
much
wiggle room. We would also like to make our journals more widely
available
(ideally freely available). But we need a new model and it is very
difficult
for a single publisher to move unilaterally without support from
institutions,
fund agencies, and libraries. Thus, there is a reason for concern and it
isn't irrational to worry about the transition to a new economic model.
That
doesn't mean the transition shouldn't take place though.

Cheers,
Mark
Received on Tue Apr 02 2002 - 19:13:27 BST