[MODERATORS NOTE: We now have AH's reply: The unused pot on
which to draw in order to provide universal access is
"higher education surpluses." Case closed. -- S.H.]
On Thu, 12 Feb 2004 Stevan Harnad wrote:
> "Invoking Cloture (Again) on 'Serials Crisis = Library Underfunding'"
> http://www.ecs.soton.ac.uk/~harnad/Hypermail/Amsci/0920.html
>
> [MODERATOR'S NOTE: This is to confirm that I am (yet again) invoking
> cloture on Albert Henderson's (AH's) recurrent theme. Since the
> inception of this Forum in 1996, this theme has already derailed
> discussion many times. It is easily stated:
>
> "Give More Money to Libraries (Out of the Money that Someone,
> Somewhere, is Wantonly Withholding)"
>
> ...
>
> Until AH specifies the unused pot from which the money can be taken so
> that every university and research institution on the planet can pay
> whatever tolls are charged by all of the planet's 24,000 journals so
> that every one of its researchers has toll-free access to ever one of
> the articles published therein (*and* the further money to ensure that
> all institutionally unaffiliated researchers worldwide likewise have
> toll-free access to every one of those articles) the posting below
> will be AH's last word on this thread. Rebuttals to AH will also
> not be posted, so please reply to him off-line. You may
> still continue to receive his postings, because AH maintains an
> "Blind.Copy.Receiver_at_compuserve.com" list to which he branches them,
> in case cloture is re-invoked.
Where is the pot of money? It is in higher education surpluses, which
have grown to the extent library spending has been cut. The following
was calculated from published Department of Education statistics:
Total higher education libraries total spending:
1970 was 3.03% of total revenue
1995 was 2.20% of total revenue
Total higher education surplus
1970 was 2.19% of total revenue
1995 was 3.25% of total revenue
More germane to the issue of research journals is the history of Columbia
University which, around 1969 spent 6% of its budget on its libraries. The
figure dropped by more than half to present levels. Meanwhile, the
university has reported surpluses in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
The money should be in the R&D spending policy, backed up by requirements
for a thorough review and evaluation of relevant literature in every
proposal.
Best wishes,
Albert Henderson
Pres., Chess Combination Inc.
Former Editor, PUBLISHING RESEARCH QUARTERLY 1994-2000
<70244.1532_at_compuserve.com>
Received on Thu Feb 12 2004 - 17:07:13 GMT