Moving past denial in open access publishing - University World News

abernard102@gmail.com 2014-05-25

Summary:

" ... However, the notion of producing HSS research results in open access gold, that is, offering free, universal digital access to the final versions of books and articles immediately upon publication, is in many ways just escaping ridicule and entering phase two: resistance. There are three major reasons for this delay. HSS publications, particularly in the realm of journal subscriptions, are nowhere near as costly as they are in the STEM fields so the sense of fiscal urgency was, and still is, perhaps not as keenly felt. Secondly, there is a significant difference in the culture of publishing.The major academic genre in most HSS fields is still the monograph and not so much the article. Consequently, while the pressure to ‘publish or perish’ may be as intense, it takes much longer to produce a book. Authors, and those assessing them, still prefer to see the result of years of effort manifest in a tangible object rather than as a downloadable file. Finally, and this is perhaps the most fundamental difference, HSS research predominantly produces textual works based on text (in the widest semiotic sense), rather than lab results and formulas. This means authors and audience alike ascribe a heightened importance to the discursive aspect of the output. Any monograph on philosophy will serve as an example ... Unfortunately, these differences have not been sufficiently considered during recent decision-making processes by some funding and policy stakeholders in the open access debate, which has led to much discontent.  Two examples are the much debated and publicised fall-out of the UK’s Finch Report on open access and the recent protest surrounding the German state of Baden-Württemberg’s amendment to university law that requires all state-funded institutions of higher learning to embrace an obligatory open access policy.  As a result much tension has arisen between academic authors, trade publishers, funding bodies, university governments, libraries and open access initiatives. Add a persistent lack of information and exchange permeating these layers and the difficulties of establishing open access gold publishing of HSS books becomes self-evident. The sword with which to cut through this Gordian knot is communication. It is vital that the technical developments in open access publishing, their advantages and shortcomings and the costs associated with them, are clearly relayed and discussed among funding bodies, libraries, university administrators and academics alike.  We need more advocacy, roundtables and diplomatic efforts across and including these different agencies to find a productive way forward. But this is not enough. There is another, deeper issue that needs reflection within the HSS scholarly community: authors should ask themselves and each other wherein the purpose of their publishing really lies ..."

Link:

http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20140522104843295

From feeds:

Open Access Tracking Project (OATP) » abernard102@gmail.com

Tags:

oa.new oa.comment oa.mandates oa.humanities oa.prestige oa.funders oa.publishers oa.universities oa.colleges oa.librarians oa.libraries oa.hei oa.policies oa.ssh

Date tagged:

05/25/2014, 07:16

Date published:

05/25/2014, 03:16