Re: A Note of Caution About "Reforming the System"

From: Barry Mahon <mahons1_at_eircom.net>
Date: Mon, 16 Dec 2002 11:44:58 -0000

16/12/2002 05:00:10, Automatic digest processor
<LISTSERV_at_LISTSERVER.SIGMAXI.ORG> wrote:

>
>If and when the (500,000?) authors of the annual 2,000,000 articles
>self-archive their peer-reviewed final drafts ("postprints") in their
>own institutional OAI-compliant Eprint Archives (all interoperable with one
>another, harvestable, hence seamlessly internavigable), that primary goal
>will be reached. (You may have doubts about whether authors will indeed
>go ahead and self-archive, but I hope you don't disagree that if/when
>they do, self-archiving *does* get us to the goal of open access to the
>entire peer-reviewed literature.)

I am glad you didn't say 'free' Open Access; apart from the non-trivial questions of
how such a seamless system would be organised technically and
organisationally, how will it be paid for?

Another consideration; how will developing countries access this store?

Barry Mahon, Executive Director, ICSTI, The International Council for Scientific
and Technical Information.

P.S. Thank you for the comprehensive summary of your position on OA.
Received on Mon Dec 16 2002 - 11:44:58 GMT