[GOAL] Re: Willett's Speech in Support of OA

[CHARLES OPPENHEIM]

Thanks, Les.  Can you provide us with feedback after the meeting?
Charles

Professor Charles Oppenheim

--- On Thu, 3/5/12, Les A Carr <lac at ecs.soton.ac.uk> wrote:

From: Les A Carr <lac at ecs.soton.ac.uk>
Subject: [GOAL] Re: Willett's Speech in Support of OA
To: "Global Open Access List (Successor of AmSci)" <goal at eprints.org>
Date: Thursday, 3 May, 2012, 9:32



 


Some colleagues have a meeting with him next week. We're briefing them. 



Sent from my iPhone


On 3 May 2012, at 08:57, "CHARLES OPPENHEIM" <c.oppenheim at btinternet.com> wrote:










An excellent suggestion from Andrew.  Who would be willing to approach Willetts to set up a meeting?



Charles



Professor Charles Oppenheim



--- On Thu, 3/5/12, Andrew A. Adams <aaa at meiji.ac.jp> wrote:




From: Andrew A. Adams <aaa at meiji.ac.jp>

Subject: [GOAL] Re: Willett's Speech in Support of OA

To: "Global Open Access List (Successor of AmSci)" <goal at eprints.org>

Date: Thursday, 3 May, 2012, 2:04



> As trailed earlier, the speech made to the Publishers' Association earlier today by David Willetts (the UK Minister for Universities and Science) is now available.  While we may quibble at some aspects, it is hugely supportive of OA:

> 

> 
http://www.bis.gov.uk/news/speeches/david-willetts-public-access-to-research



I'm afraid I do rather more than "quibble at some aspects". This shows the 

dangerous misunderstandings about OA that are hindering real progress 

(alongside the bizarre inability of most academics to see that we need OA as 

a body and that the quickest and easiest way to achieve it is to provide it 

mutually). Here are the phrases which worry me:



"Our starting point is very simple. The Coalition is committed to the 

principle of public access to publicly-funded research results...

Perhaps I might speak from the experience of writing my own book, The Pinch, 

on fairness between the generations. It was very frustrating to track down an 

article and then find it hidden behind a pay wall. That meant it was freely 

accessible to a professional in an academic institution, but not to me as an 

independent writer."



He misunderstands that this problem exists for academics as well as the 

general public.



"It would be deeply irresponsible to get rid of one business model and not 

put anything in its place."



I am worried that he is concerned about the profits of publishers. Profits 

are not necessarily a natural part of academic publishing. If a profitable 

business model exists that reflects added value, then that's fine. However, 

finding a model in which costs are covered (and that can include subsidy from 

other sources such as membership to scholarly societies, direct university 

funding, direct public funding) without those costs being diverted into the 

coffers of a rent-seeking parasitic business is needed, not a way to ensure 

that someone makes profits while potentially hindering academic 

communication. Communication (between academics and from them to the rest of 

society) is the goal.



"The crucial options are, as you know, called green and gold. Green means 

publishers are required to make research openly accessible within an agreed 

embargo period."



Here is my biggest problem. Davd Willetts does not understand Green OA. Well, 

he's a minister. He generally won't understand all the details of every 

speech he makes (the "two brains nickname notwithstanding". What is more 

worrying is the fact that this speech reflects the lack of understanding 

amongst his speechwriters (political and civil servants who act as his 

general staff in deciding policy). With this fundamental misunderstanding of 

the fact that Green OA is about academics and institutions making their 

papers' contents available gratis while Gold OA is about publishers making 

papers' content available, any policy developed by the BIUS will be deeply 

flawed.



I understand that in this speech he was talking to publishers. Perhaps we can 

somehow arrange for the Minister for Universities to come and give a talk at 

a UK university at which his message might be targetted to academics, instead.



-- 

Professor Andrew A Adams                      
aaa at meiji.ac.jp

Professor at Graduate School of Business Administration,  and

Deputy Director of the Centre for Business Information Ethics

Meiji University, Tokyo, Japan       http://www.a-cubed.info/





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