In the las t
BiblioFile
, there was an article
which described the efforts of the Scholarly Publishing and Academic
Resources Coalition (SPARC) to develop alternatives to the high
priced scientific serials published by major international publishers
such as Academic (now merged with Elsevier), Elsevier, Kluwer, Springer,
and Wiley. Now, an interesting update
concerning SPARC efforts, published in Against
the Grain, April 2001, by Carla Stoffle, Dean of Libraries,
University of Arizona, is excerpted below. .
SPARC's agenda focuses on enhancing broad and cost-effective access
to peer-reviewed scientific, technical and medical (STM) research,
where the economic benefits to libraries are greatest. This objective
is pursued via a two-pronged strategy: incubation of alternative channels
of scholarly communication and public advocacy of fundamental changes
in the system and culture of scholarly communication.
Its members, affiliates, and endorsers from throughout the world
support its mission through a variety of local initiatives. Full
members pledge, in principle, a purchase commitment to SPARC-partnered
journals that fit their collection development agenda.
Overall, libraries benefit in several concrete and consistent ways
from SPARC activities. The projects are significantly less expensive
for libraries, while they attract quality authors and editors, making
them essential acquisitions. While STM journal price increases have
moderated generally, new players have entered the marketplace, and
new models are gaining acceptance, giving libraries greater options.
Consequently, journal editorial boards are forging links between
libraries and faculty..
As everyone knows, costs can be gauged a number of ways: price per
article, price per page, price per character. SPARC journals are
steadily building a stable of authors and papers that will make
them competitive no matter how the statistics are calculated. Library
support of these alternative titles gives them the time to build
scale, gain greater credibility, and publish the high quality research
the audience demands.
As they do so, these alternative journals provide libraries with a
new choice. For example, if a library decided to drop Tetrahedron
Letters because it subscribed to SPARC's Organic Letters,
it would save enough money to buy the rest of the SPARC alternative
collection---and still have money left over. Plus, authors are steadily
switching from the former to the latter, building its prestige.
A key to a successful alternative journal program is having libraries
inform faculty about the serials crisis and encouraging scholars
to submit to the new generation of journals. Quality content is
crucial to creating a viable alternative to traditional outlets.
‚-Adapted from Carla Stoffle's article.( Ed.)
http://www.brown.edu/Facilities/University_Library
