[GOAL] Re: [sparc-oaforum] Abrogatio Praecox: Librarian Cancellation Plans Are Grotesquely Premature and Profoundly Counterproductive

[Rick Anderson]

(6) And for OA to really begin to grow, we need effective Green OA mandates.

(7) And although I want to stress that it is not essential for the effectiveness of Green OA mandates, it is very helpful for Green OA mandates if publisher Green OA embargoes are zero or minimal.

Honestly, I was going to withdraw from the field at this point, because I don't think I can usefully say much more on this, but these two points brought me up short.

To the degree that Green policies are a) widespread, b) mandatory, c) effective and d) embargo-free, won't that make it much easier for libraries to see which subscriptions they no longer need to keep? It seems to me that if you want to encourage adoption of Green policies, your best bet is for them to be spottily observed, optional, and embargoed, thus making it maximally difficult for libraries to see which titles they can cancel. Unless, that is, your actual goal is to drive publishers out of business — but that would be counterproductive given that Green models depend on traditional publishers continuing to publish journals in traditional ways, which in turn requires a continued stream of traditional subscription revenue.

One solution to this conundrum might be for libraries to continue subscribing to journals whose content has become comprehensively and immediately available for free, thus keeping traditional publishing alive with what amounts to charitable giving. But I'm not sure that sounds like a very healthy or sustainable system in the long term.

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Rick Anderson
Assoc. Dean for Scholarly Resources & Collections
Marriott Library, University of Utah
Desk: (801) 587-9989
Cell: (801) 721-1687
rick.anderson at utah.edu
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