Re: Elsevier Science Policy on Public Web Archiving Needs Re-Thinking

From: Marvin Margoshes <physchem_at_earthlink.net> <harnad_at_COGSCI.SOTON.AC.UK>
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 1998 10:54:21 -0400

> [Moderator's note: The AJP project has been mentioned in several
> postings, most recently by Arthur Smith in the prior one on this
> thread. It may surprise some to hear that I think page-charges for
> that commendable project might be premature! A tide-over subsidy for
> the next few unstable years might be a safer way to ensure its
> survival through the transition period into the online-only era
> supported by author-end page charges n place of reader-end S/SL/PPV.

But who will provide funds for a subsidy? Will it be given to for-profit
publishers? Until there are answers to questions like this, the suggestion
of a subsidy is pie-in-the-sky.

Marvin Margoshes

    [Moderator's note: Reasonable questions. This is why the transition
    needs advance planning. See the "Urgent Need to Plan a Stable
    Transition" thread in ths Forum. Some candidates for the sponsors
    of a temporary tide-over to facilitate and stabilise the
    transition: (1) Paper Publishers themselves, as an investment in
    exploring and preparing for their future; (2) University Libraries,
    to hasten their own future savings; (3) Research funding agencies,
    to hasten and support the optimal mechanism for the reporting of
    the work they have funded; (4) University/Learned-Society
    consortia, in the interests of their constituencies.
    -- Stevan Harnad]
Received on Tue Aug 25 1998 - 19:17:43 BST