on 2 Apr 2002 jean.claude.guedon_at_UMontreal.CA wrote:
> Let me respond in the body of the text below.
>
> Le 1 Avril 2002 09:58, Stevan Harnad a écrit :
> > On Mon, 1 Apr 2002, Richard Poynder wrote:
> > > interview... with Elsevier Science chairman Derk Haank...
> > > in April's Information Today:
> > > http://www.infotoday.com/it/apr02/poynder.htm
> > > Richard.Poynder_at_dsl.pipex.com
> > > http://www.richardpoynder.com
> >
> > The interview is interesting and shows the Elsevier chairman to
> > be very reasonable, open and well-intentioned.
>
> I would rather say that he is clever and tries to avoid direct confrontation.
> >
> > I think that this confirms yet again that it is and always has been a
> > waste of time and energy to demonize and vilify publishers like
> > Elsevier, who really are not any better or worse than any other
> > company, but just happen to find themselves in an anomalous business,
> > with large profits but an unusual confluence of interests, including
> > conflicts of interest, in a radically changing technological setting.
>
> It seems to me that a company that is intent on maintaining as high a profit
> rate as it can in the context of social transactions (information largely
> produced by public money, given away by their authors, reviewed freely by
> peers, and bought by libraries or research labs with largely public money)
> has to face the fact that its legitimacy will be hotly contested. I do
> believe that the intensense barrage if criticisms levelled at Elsevier and
> other similar companies has something to do with the Elsevier Chairman and
> his apparent reasonable stance...
The 'profit motive' argument might have some
standing if the private research universities that
dominate sponsored research did not sport profits
double those reported by Elsevier and other
publishers. These universities have cut library
spending by half in order to inflate their financial
hoards. Moreover, universities have $1 billion
in patent revenue now (which they did not have
in 1980), resulting from sponsored research. They
deprive library users of information generated by
the rest of the world only because they have
become skilled at academic 3-card Monte.
Albert Henderson
Pres., Chess Combination Inc.
POB 2423 Bridgeport CT 06608-0423
<alh_at_chessNIC.com>
Received on Wed Apr 03 2002 - 00:47:33 BST