scitech library question

I just received a notification that the latest issue of Open Access Now is out. As per usual, it has a number of intriguing stories related to OA initiatives--some of which involve gains with rather large publishing houses. A lot of this has already made the rounds on many of the listservs and blogs but I still find it interesting. The editorial quotes Dylan, "You better start swimmin', or you'll sink like a stone, for the times they are a-changin'". The times are definitely changing, although it still remains a mystery to me as to who is swimming and who exactly will end up at the bottom of the pond.

BTW - Charles Bailey's Scholarly Electronic Publishing Bibliography is now up to Version 54 (7/13/2004). His blog just pointed me to an interesting paper on OA appearing in the latest issue of First Monday. To read about how "OA is the Botox of scholarly communications," see The devil you don’t know: The unexpected future of Open Access publishing. I may have been asleep at the wheel, but I thought this paper would have provoked more debate on the lists. Thoughts?

Geoff, I think it's difficult and time-consuming to do the deconstruction of "The devil you don't know" that it so richly deserves. I tried, and the latest Cites & Insights includes the wan result: I found it impossible to stay calm and focused. (I believe the author has found a way to stave off reasoned criticism: Write in such a way that critics become so enraged that the criticisms are no longer reasonable.)

I sure look forward to someone else doing what I failed to do, though.

Posted by: Walt Crawford at August 16, 2025 01:29 PM