ED 262 Research, Reference & Resource Skills

Libraries and funding agencies are finally flexing their muscles against journal paywalls. Authors should follow suit.

 

A PERSON COULD BE FORGIVEN for believing 20 years ago that the internet would soon revolutionize academic publishing. With the emergence of the world wide web, it suddenly became possible for academic publishers to disseminate scholarly work at the click of a button — at a fraction of the cost of printing and mailing hard-copy journals. Recognizing the opportunity, many scholars and librarians began to advocate a new, open access model of academic publishing, in which research articles are made freely available online to anyone who wants them, not just affiliates of colleges or universities. The result would be a true online “public library of science” — which, as it so happens, also became the name of one of the first publishers to embrace the model.

As a new librarian in the early 2000s, I believed passionately in the cause of open access and worked hard to bring it about. But almost two decades later, the movement has made only slight gains at the margins, and the traditional subscription-based model remains firmly entrenched in academia. For the university libraries who bear most of the subscription costs, it is as though the internet revolution never happened: Since 1986, research library expenditures have grown at more than four times the rate of inflation, with journal prices showing the greatest price jumps of all.

Via Elizabeth E Charles

A while ago I asked if any writers wanted guidance on finding free – and most importantly, legal – access to academic research online. About 190+ respondents said yes. So belatedly, here’s some advice on finding research without paying for it.

Writers need access to academic research for lots and lots of reasons. When I started working on Empire of Sand I wanted to use India’s Mughal Empire for inspiration, which meant I specifically needed to research the history, culture and politics of that era and region of the world.

Via Elizabeth E Charles

In Inclusive Knowledge Societies, people have ready access to information and communications resources, in languages and formats that suit them, and possess the skills to interpret and make use of them. Within this framework, promoting access to scientific scholarship (in the broadest sense) has remained a central challenge to most Member States. UNESCO, with its partners, continues to pursue this objective through its programmes on Open Science and Open Access as well as in partnership with other key actors .

Via Elizabeth E Charles

Introduction. Open access to digital research output is increasing, but academic library policies can place restrictions on public access to libraries. This paper reports on a preliminary study to investigate the correlation between academic library access policies and institutional positions of openness to knowledge.
Method. This primarily qualitative study used document and data analysis to examine the content of library access or use policies of twelve academic institutions in eight countries. The outcomes were statistically correlated with institutional open access publication policies and practices.
Analysis. We used an automated search tool together with manual searching to retrieve Web-based library access policies, then categorised and counted the levels and conditions of public access. We compared scores for institutional library access feature with open access features and percentages of open access publications.
Results. Academic library policies may suggest open public access but multi-layered user categories, privileges and fees charged can inhibit such access, with disparities in openness emerging between library policies and institutional open access policies.
Conclusion. As open access publishing options and mandates expand, physical entry and access to print and electronic resources in academic libraries is contracting. This conflicts with global library and information commitments to open access to knowledge.

Via Elizabeth E Charles

Academics generally recognise that the scholarly publishing business model is flawed, the impact factor does not point to quality, and open access is a good idea. And yet, academics continue to sub…

Via Elizabeth E Charles