At 04:03 PM 5/12/99 +0100, you wrote:
>Arthur Smith says that the APS will allow authors to self-publish free
>versions of their papers, as well as an APS-created rendition of the same
>paper, and is considering a license agreement where the author retains full
>copyright. Allowing the free posting of APS pages is an absolute bonus. As
>far as I can see, allowing
>1 free posting of all **author-created** copy (that includes revisions for
>refereed versions)
>2 backed by a non-exclusive licence of some form for enhanced publication
>is **all** that is needed to begin the beneficial transformation of
>scholarly publishing on the Web.
>
>The real question is, does this position enhance APS' competitive position
>or detract from it? If it detracts, then this may not remain 'current
>official policy' for long (noting also that APS will not now be able to
>revert to any previously-held position). If it enhances, presumably other
>publishers will move to emulate it.
>
It doesn't pay APA's bills and it doesn't help authors get used to the
notion that if they want their refereed versions freely and immediately Web
accessible someone needs to pay APA for its services.
I submit that APA would be more fiscally responsible and be doing more for
facilitating the transition from the current user-pays system to a future
author-pays system by charging for the service of putting the refereed,
formatted, archived versions of articles on xxx immediately upon
publication. They could put all the rest on xxx a year (or more) later, so
as not to give to some what they are selling to others.
Tom W.
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Thomas J. Walker
Department of Entomology & Nematology
University of Florida, PO Box 110620, Gainesville, FL 32611-0620
E-mail: tjw_at_gnv.ifas.ufl.edu FAX: (352)392-0190
Web:
http://csssrvr.entnem.ufl.edu/~walker/tjwbib/walker.htm
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Received on Wed Feb 10 1999 - 19:17:43 GMT