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U.K. Academics and Librarians Disagree Over Open Access Publishing
by JK Vijayakumar 15 Jun '04

15 Jun '04

U.K. Academics and Librarians Disagree Over Open Access Publishing by Richard Poynder http://www.infotoday.com/newsbreaks/nb040503-3.shtml -------------------------------------------- On April 21, the U.K. Parliament�s Science and Technology Select Committee held the third evidence session in its enquiry into the pricing and availability of scientific publications. Having heard testimony from publishers (See http://www.infotoday.com/it/apr04/poynder.shtml) British politicians now wanted to hear the views of librarians and academics. As it turned out, the librarians and academics disagreed with one another. First up were representatives of the library community, including the chief executive of The British Library, Lynne Brindley; the librarian of Cambridge University, Peter Fox; Di Martin, dean of learning and information services at the University of Hertfordshire; and Frederick Friend, consultant with the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC). Committee chair Dr. Ian Gibson began: �Libraries have told us that there is a crisis in the provision of scientific publications: publishers vigorously deny this. Who is right?� The librarians were clear there was a crisis. Describing the environment as monopolistic, they expressed concerns over excessive pricing, inflexibility over the �bundling� of electronic journals, inequitable copyright agreements, and restrictions on long-term access to digital material. On pricing, Martin reported that while the RPI (Retail Price Index) had increased by just 11 percent over 5 years, there had been a 58 percent increase in STM journal subscriptions. Fox explained that for Cambridge University this meant that where 10 years ago scientific journals consumed around 25 percent of the materials budget, �currently that is 33 percent and rising.� This, he added, was depriving the University of �500,000 a year for �purchasing books and journals outside the scientific area.� The librarians also refuted claims made by publishers that there was flexibility in bundling. Any flexibility there was, said Martin, is disappearing. �The deal that has been put forward now for higher education � [would] � give us much fewer options and we would have to take a set package.� When Gibson asked who the best and worst publishers were, Friend replied that ALPSP members (The Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers) are easier to deal with. Two of the more difficult, he added, were Elsevier and the American Chemical Society (ACS). Last year, he explained, JISC spent 6 months in national negotiations with Elsevier. �You agree a national price of, say, 5 percent on what you paid last year; but then, when the detail gets down to local level, you find that the reality is very different.� The process, he said, was �extremely time-consuming, and is still not resolved for many universities.� ACS, he continued, imposes unreasonable restrictions on long-term access to its digital material. �In the electronic environment we are not allowed to purchase the content outright; it is licensed to us. Many publishers impose conditions upon long-term access�not all, and in general the ALPSP publishers are better on this, but the American Chemical Society is very difficult.� Much of the discussion revolved around OA (Open Access) publishing. OA, said Friend, is an appropriate response to the current monopolistic environment. �What I would urge this committee to consider is the recommendation to government that any articles based on publicly-funded research should be freely accessible over the Internet.� Since universities are a major provider of profit for these companies, asked committee member Dr. Brian Iddon, why did librarians not just use their clout to make publishers more flexible? �We do have some clout,� replied Friend. �[B]ut ultimately we are in the hands of our academic community, and if the academic community do not back the library up in saying �no�, then the library alone could not take action.� The problem, he later explained, is that those who pay for the journals (librarians) are not the people who make the buying decisions (academics). Since OA requires that researchers pay to be published, he added, it has the benefit of restoring �the decision on payment to the authors.� When academics were called it was apparent they viewed things differently. David Williams, professor of tissue engineering at the University of Liverpool, was critical of OA, and disputed there was a crisis. �I do not see that there is any significant problem in S&T publishing at the present time. My staff, my post-docs, my students have immense access to a wide variety of publications with tremendous facility. Comparing that to 5 years ago, the time saved in technology is very, very significant.� John Fry, professor of microbial ecology at the University of Cardiff, said that OA introduced �a whole host of minor practical problems.� As publications manager for The Federation of European Microbiological Societies, he was also worried that learned societies could not continue publishing without the support of traditional publishers. �All our journals at the moment are owned and published by Elsevier.� While supportive of self-archiving, Nigel Hitchin, professor of mathematics at the University of Oxford, was also doubtful about OA publishing. �Up-front payments are a big issue,� he said, adding that asking mathematicians�who are not big grant-earners�to pay to publish could act as a deterrent to submitting papers. The only academic to support OA was professor James Crabbe, head of animal and microbial sciences at the University of Reading. When the Committee asked about copyright, Williams replied: �In the vast majority of papers which I publish I have to sign over copyright to the publisher. It has never been a concern to me. As editor-in-chief [of an Elsevier journal] I have never had a concern raised by any author at any time about the copyright issue.� Jane Carr, chief executive of the Authors� Licensing & Collecting Society (ALCS)�who gave testimony alongside academics�disagreed. Based on an ALCS survey, she said, it was clear academics were concerned. One author had told ALCS: �The only journal I challenged over assigning copyright agreed to assign it to me as long as I understood they would not publish me again. Academic publishing is, from an author�s perspective, a complete rip-off.� Carr added she was concerned such copyright issues �could be carried through into an open access model.� In short, academics were skeptical about OA publishing. Outside the committee room, critics complained that, in their choice of whom to call, politicians had shown a bias towards publishers. �Of the four academics, three were editors of Elsevier journals,� angrily commented one OA advocate, on condition of anonymity. �I don�t think it was a representative panel of academics,� agrees Jan Velterop, from OA publisher BioMed Central. �But that doesn�t matter. It is my impression that the Committee just question what they perceive as unclear or flawed arguments.� The Select Committee�s final oral session�on May 5�will take evidence from U.K. research councils. A report will then be issued in June, after which the U.K. government has 2 months to respond. The Committee has posted the uncorrected transcript of oral evidence at: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200304/ cmselect/cmsctech/uc399-iii/uc39902.htm. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Address AutoComplete - You start. We finish. http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail

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BIREME
by Madhuresh 15 Jun '04

15 Jun '04

BIREME - The Latin American and Caribbean Center on Health Sciences Information http://www.bireme.br/bvs/I/ihome.htm BIREME's mission is to contribute to the development of health in the countries of the Latin America and the Caribbean by promoting the use of health scientific and technical information. Under the Scientific Literature section of the portal, one can select "database search", where a search can be done in 15 databases together, including MEDLINE. In advanced search, one can select the database/s and other Limits can also be applied. In fact it is using WWWISIS and provides Index terms also. It is also a portal of Scientific Journals (Health Science Journals) and divided in various subject categories. It also gives the details about the journal like availability (free or controlled), publisher, publication started/ended, ISSN, online link etc. A good source for Health Science Professionals. Madhuresh Singhal Aurigene Discovery Technologies Limited, Electronic City, phase II, Hosur Road, Bangalore 560100 Phone 28521314-16 Ext.- 422 Mobile 98861 82822 E-mail: madhureshsinghal(a)yahoo.com http://nettalk2.tripod.com/

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Website on 'Academic and Research Institutions in Mumbai
by Mailing List Manager 15 Jun '04

15 Jun '04

Date: Tue, 15 Jun 2004 13:50:37 +0530 From: gargi17 <gargi17(a)indiatimes.com> Hi, As a part of my training at IGIDR Library, I have developed a site on Academic and Research Institution in Mumbai under the guidance of Mr. G. K. Manjunath, Chief Librarian and Mr. S. M. Pujar, Assistant Librarian. The URL of the site is : http://freewebs.com/arimumbai I request all the members to go through the site and give your valuable suggestions and comments for further improvement of the site. Regards, Sarika B. Davakhar

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Google boosts enterprise search appliance
by Mailing List Manager 15 Jun '04

15 Jun '04

Date: 15 Jun 2004 04:49:35 -0000 From: farooque <mfarooque(a)rediffmail.com> Google Inc. is expanding its presence behind the firewall with an updated version of its Google Search Appliance featuring expanded capacity and improved security. Google Search Appliance GB-1001 supports five times the document capacity of the previous version, expanding from 300,000 documents to 1.5 million, according to Dave Girouard, general manager of enterprise at Google. Software enhancements include a continuous crawl feature that scans and indexes content continually rather than the previous batch crawling function. "Now it is always crawling documents and verifying if a document has changed. The result is that content is much fresher. It is a matter of minutes between a change and the update of the system," Girouard said. The updated appliance also bolsters security with added support for HTML-forms-based single sign-on. This feature allows the appliance to validate corporate user rights so that users will see only the search results they have access to, Girouard said. Another software enhancement, dubbed unlimited collections, allows IT managers to administer multiple appliances separately and tailor indexes for different departments. The appliance also includes improved filters and more detailed usage reporting and monitoring to provide information about the number of queries and most popular search terms, according to Google officials. --------------------------------- Farooque, IBM Global Services (India) Pvt Ltd. First floor, GT Annexe, Airport Road, Bangalore-17 Tel: 25094107, 25094119 email... farooque(a)in.ibm.com ----------------------------------

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Web Feeds from Publishers and Book Vendors?
by Mailing List Manager 15 Jun '04

15 Jun '04

Date: Mon, 14 Jun 2004 10:30:28 -0500 From: Gerry Mckiernan <gerrymck(a)iastate.edu> Web Feeds from Publishers and Book Vendors? I am greatly interested in learning of Any and All publishers or book vendors that provide Web feeds (RSS, Atom, etc.) for new and/or forthcoming books published or provided by the publisher or vendor. I will be happy to include each within my new registry _RSS(sm): Rich Site Services_ [ http://www.public.iastate.edu/~CYBERSTACKS/RSS2.htm ] Regards, Gerry Gerry McKiernan Approved Librarian Iowa State University Ames IA 50011 gerrymck(a)iastate.edu

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Re: Use of RSS in Bibliographic/Abstract Databases?
by Mailing List Manager 15 Jun '04

15 Jun '04

Date: Fri, 11 Jun 2004 14:48:14 -0500 From: Gerry Mckiernan <gerrymck(a)iastate.edu> Colleagues/ In response to my query posted earlier this week, I have learned of two databases that offer RSS functionality HubMed: pubmed rewired: An Alternative Interface to the PubMed Medical Literature Database [ http://www.pmbrowser.info/ ] my.PubMed [ http://www.mypubmed.com/ ] [Thanks to Teri Vogel/ Georgia State University Libraries for these two nominations!!!] In addition, I has prompted to recall that an associated database of my. PubMed offered by FS Consulting, Inc. ( http://www.fsconsult.com/about/ ), also provides RSS functionality. The database, my.OAI [ http://www.myoai.com/ ], is a major Open Archives Initiative Service Provider [ http://www.public.iastate.edu/~gerrymck/OAI-SP-I.pdf ] Each of these are now listed in RSS(sm) [ http://www.public.iastate.edu/~CYBERSTACKS/RSS.htm ] Regards, /Gerry Gerry McKiernan RSS Librarian Iowa State University Ames IA 50011

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Re: [LIS-Forum] free online reading (www.nap.edu)
by Mailing List Manager 14 Jun '04

14 Jun '04

Date: Mon, 14 Jun 2004 14:41:14 +0530 From: Murari Tapaswi <murari(a)darya.nio.org> To: Mailing List Manager <mailman(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in> Subject: Re: [LIS-Forum] free online reading (www.nap.edu) I had even downloaded a pdf file from this site for complete book: 'Illuminating the Hidden Planet'. The pdf files for cetain books are available for developing countries including India. Regards, -Murari Tapaswi ----- Original Message ----- > Date: Fri, 11 Jun 2004 10:26:15 +0530 > From: VYASAMOORTHY /IKP/HYD <Vyasamoorthy(a)icicikp.com> > > Excellent source for many technical books. much of it free for online > reading. You must have a look at the beta "Discovery Engine" provided in > this site. I strongly recommend Librarians to 'study' it. Thanks Mukesh > for your message. > > Vyasamoorthy, P > =============== >

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Web Feeds for E-Journal Issue Notification and Local OPAC/ILS Holdings?
by Mailing List Manager 14 Jun '04

14 Jun '04

Date: Sun, 13 Jun 2004 12:00:28 -0500 From: Gerry Mckiernan <gerrymck(a)iastate.edu> It has occurred to me that Web feeds (RSS, [ http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA296443 ], Atom [ http://www.atomenabled.org/ ], Other(s)?) hold the potential of providing not only publication notification to institutional (or individual) subscribers for current electronic journal issues, but also could serve as the mechanism by which local holdings for the e-journal could be seamlessly updated within the local OPAC/ILS. Thanks to Owen Stephens I have learned that the Library of Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey, provides not only RSS feeds for all new issues of subscribed [e-]journals, but to individual e-journal titles as well. My new RSS(sm) registry includes entries each of these types of public e-journal issue feeds: [ http://www.public.iastate.edu/~CYBERSTACKS/RSS2.htm#NewJournalIssues ] In my New World View, institutional subscribers to an e-journal could also be 'subscribed' to the associated Web feed for _each_ e-title by the publisher/vendor. Such eFeed subscriptions could be a Package Deal: a selected Feed Reader of a library's choice (e.g., Pluck [ http://www.pluck.com/ ] provided by a journal vendor (e.g., EBSCO, Swets, etc.) fully populated with the Web feeds addresses for each e-title. [There are of course, other possible scenarios; for example, a Third Party Service could serve as an Aggregator for many e-journal publishers, vendors, etc.][Do I Smell a Business Opportunity or What? [:-)]. Upon publication/release of a new e-journal issue, the local reader would be updated in its next cycle. Such entries would not only be made available through a local New Journal Issue feed similar to what is offered by Royal Holloway [http://www.public.iastate.edu/~CYBERSTACKS/RSS2.htm#NewJournalIssues ], but through the Magic of an XML-based Black Box, update the holdings for an e-journal in the local staff and public OPAC. [Of course, The Devil Is In The Details Here, But Hey, RSS is XML, and So the Possibilities are Possible [:->]. I would most appreciate receiving Any and All Comments about MyNewWorldView (or Other Views that this Musings might inspire). Regards, /Gerry Gerry McKiernan Black-Box Librarian Iowa State University Ames IA 50011 gerrymck(a)iastate.edu

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Goa Academic Library Network
by Mailing List Manager 14 Jun '04

14 Jun '04

Date: Sun, 13 Jun 2004 14:49:30 +0530 (IST) From: Goa Academic Library Network <goalnet(a)unigoa.ac.in> Dear Friends, I am happy to let members of this list know that Goa University Library has created an academic library network consisting of Goa University library and other college libraries in Goa who are willing to join the network by using NewGenLib Library networking Software. Members are already probably aware that NewGenLib is the joint effort between the Kesavan Institute of Information and Knowledge Management (http://www.kiikm.org/) And a software company, Verus Solutions Pvt., Ltd., both in Hyderabad. Details of NewGenLib and its features can be seen at its web site, http://www.newgenlib.com/. The Goa Academic library networks union database OPAC is now accessible at http://goalnet.unigoa.ac.in/ and I welcome members of this list to access our OPAC. However, all the links are not yet functional. However link to the goalnet database is functional. I would like to highlight some of the useful features of the OPAC. ·Member libraries can locate their databases online through their dialup connectivity. ·The member library users can find their library online and do their transactions also online. ·The member libraries can only upload/download their transactions/data end of the day through a dial up connection. ·Users can access all the libraries collection by searching Union catalogue. ·Rest of the libraries in the country and outside the country can access the union catalogue of all the libraries in Goa. ·Lastly, member libraries need not prepare the database for the books already entered by any libraries in the network. They can copy-paste as facilitated by the software. We can even download the records from the Library of Congress without any problem and paste them to our database and add our accession number. I request all of you to kindly access the network and give your valuable suggestions to the following e-mail address: goalnet(a)unigoa.ac.in Thanks, Konnur. Dr.P.V.Konnur, Co-ordinator, Goa Academic Library Network, Goa University Library, Taleigao Plateau, Goa-403 206 Phone: 0832-2456031

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IASLIC Study Circle on 17th June, 2004
by Mailing List Manager 14 Jun '04

14 Jun '04

Date: Fri, 11 Jun 2004 17:27:21 +0530 From: Dr. Arun K. Chakraborty <akc(a)bic.boseinst.ernet.in> For circulation pl. INDIAN ASSOCIATION OF SPECIAL LIBRARIES AND INFORMATION CENTRES (I A S L I C)P-291 C I T Scheme, No.6M, Kankurgachi, Kolkata – 700 054Tel : 2352 – 9651 / e-mail : iaslic(a)vsnl.net, url: http://www.iaslic.org N O T I C E 275th IASLIC STUDY CIRCLE MEETING TOPIC : INFORMATION SUPPORT FOR PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT WITH REFERENCE TO RURAL DEVELOPMENT SPEAKER : Prof. Pulakesh Maity, Economic Research Unit, Indian Statistical Institute 203, B.T. Road, Kolkata 108 CHAIRPERSON : Shri Alok Kumar Mukhopadhyay, IAS Director, State Institute of Panchayats & Rural Development, Kalyani Venue : IASLIC Seminar Room, Kolkata Date & Time : Thursday, 17th June, 2004 at 6-30 p.m. You are cordially invited to attend the meeting along with your colleagues. (Dr. Arun Kumar Chakraborty) Secretary, IASLIC Study Circle akc(a)bic.boseinst.ernet.in DR. ARUN KUMAR CHAKRABORTY LIBRARIAN BOSE INSTITUTE, KOLKATA, INDIA MAIN CAMPUS : 93/1 A.P.C. ROAD, KOLKATA 700 009 INDIA PH : 91-33-2350 2402/03, 6619,6702 FAX : 91-33-2350 6790 CENTENARY CAMPUS : P1/12 CIT SCHEME - VII-M, KOLKATA 700 054 INDIA PH : 91-33-2337 9544, 9416, 9219 FAX : 91-33-2334 3886 Ph (Res) : 33-2672 1192, 3892 E-MAIL : akc(a)bic.boseinst.ernet.in, arunchkr(a)vsnl.net.in, c_arunk(a)hotmail.com

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