Re: "Open Access" at Cambridge University Press

[Phillip Bigelow <bigelowp@juno.com>]

But most science journals are now creating PDFs as part of the *routine*
process of publishing.  In most cases, the author doesn't have a choice
in the matter.  It is *how* some publishers are making the PDFs available
that I find bizarre.

As Scott Hartman pointed out, Cambridge University Press is trying out
"cost shifting", in order to provide the public free access to its PDFs.
In itself, that isn't a bad thing.  But whether the purported $2700 per
manuscript cost is the *real* cost incurred by Cambridge, or instead yet
another case of price-gouging, I wouldn't know.  But my first impression
is that Cambridge University Press is out of touch with the real world. 
At a minimum, they are out of touch with their authors.

IMO, the publishing houses are fighting a losing battle when they charge
for PDFs.  They might as well declare defeat.  Free PDFs (that,
originally, weren't supposed to be free) are floating around the net. 
Take for example SVP.  SVP offers downloads of papers to anyone who is a
member of the Society.  But one member can make multiple copies and email
them to 10 non-members.  So is SVP's rule on downloads effective?  You be
the judge.

<pb>
--

On Fri, 18 Aug 2006 14:26:51 -0400 "Andrew A. Farke"
<andyfarke@hotmail.com> writes:
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: owner-DINOSAUR@usc.edu [mailto:owner-DINOSAUR@usc.edu] On 
> Behalf Of
> > Phillip Bigelow
> > Sent: Friday, August 18, 2006 6:32 AM
> > To: dinosaur@usc.edu
> > Subject: Re: "Open Access" at Cambridge University Press
> <snip>
> 
> > Furthermore, most manuscripts are now submitted electronically.
> > Therefore, the cost to Cambridge University Press to transfer the 
> article
> > into PDF format is essentially zero.  A dude does some pointing 
> and
> > clicking with a mouse for about 3 minutes, and the PDF is ready.
> 
> If only it were that easy. . .it takes a decent bit of time to take 
> a
> manuscript as submitted by an author and turn it into the published 
> product
> as you see in JVP, Proceedings B, or another journal. First, an 
> editor goes
> through and makes sure everything is in line with the style of the 
> journal -
> spelling, capitalization, section headings, references, etc. Even in 
> a
> carefully prepared manuscript by a conscientious author, there are 
> bound to
> be a few inconsistencies.
> 
> Next, a layout person organizes the text so that it fits pleasingly 
> into the
> allotted space. This means that all columns of text on a page line 
> up, the
> last page of text lines up neatly and evenly, words are hyphenated 
> in
> appropriate places, etc. You also have to make sure graphics (which
> invariably *aren't* submitted quite at exactly publication specs) 
> are the
> right size, and that they fit in with the text in a logical and
> aesthetically-pleasing way. You don't want any orphaned lines of 
> text at the
> end of a page, or below a figure. Etc., etc., etc. Even though 
> computers
> have made this easier than the old days of retype, cut, and paste, 
> it still
> takes awhile to get everything together!
> 
> *Then* it's made into a PDF or printed out, and the page proofs are 
> sent
> back to the author. If the journal is lucky, the author sends these 
> back in
> a timely fashion. Then, it's ready to be turned into the final PDF.
> 
> So, the bottom line is it's not quite as easy as it sounds. I think 
> the
> journals have a right to recoup some of the costs of their efforts. 
> Whether
> or not it's worth $2,700 is another question altogether (and it 
> certainly
> excludes students, many paleontologists on small budgets, and 
> scientists in
> developing countries or countries with little financial support for 
> paleo).
> 
> So to tie this in to dinosaurs. . .there *are* a lot of freely 
> available
> dinosaur publications out there. Palaeontologia Electronica, Acta
> Palaeontologia Polonica, and many other major journals have freely 
> available
> electronic archives. Many folks (myself included) have PDFs of their 
> work
> available on their webpage. *And* you get electronic access to JVP 
> with a
> membership in the society.
> 
> My two cents,
> 
> Andy
> 
> 
> 


--
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person from the future who is traveling into the past, it's probably a
good idea to avoid eye contact." - Jack Handey