tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4380733575762269367.post6049608063481917382..comments2016-03-18T18:33:01.463-07:00Comments on Science, Food, Etc.: Wherefore and what from scientific societies?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03212628642283844865noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4380733575762269367.post-9118538268919397592012-07-16T11:56:31.730-07:002012-07-16T11:56:31.730-07:00The most fundamental question to my mind is this: ...The most fundamental question to my mind is this: do learned societies exist for the benefit of their academic discipline, or do academic disciplines exist for the benefit of their learned societies? If the former, than there is an absolute mandate to find a way to go open access -- that is the only way they can fully support their discipline.Mike Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06039663158335543317noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4380733575762269367.post-38485822212498800092012-06-22T05:54:17.688-07:002012-06-22T05:54:17.688-07:00Casey raises good points-- I am definitely an advo...Casey raises good points-- I am definitely an advocate of open-access, but it's true that few society journals have gone this route YET (aside from pieces like "open access options" or free access after 12 months). I emphasize the word YET. The question is this-- are societies truly not sustainable with an OA model? This is a question that I urge societies to explore fully... perhaps we CAN sometime soon come up with a model wherein we have our cake and eat it too.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03212628642283844865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4380733575762269367.post-1230793740305466432012-06-22T05:41:59.212-07:002012-06-22T05:41:59.212-07:00I agree with your characterization of the role of ...I agree with your characterization of the role of societies, but personally I do not support the current economic model of Learned Societies (and by implication societies themselves) since few Societies publish under an Open Access (CC-BY) model that permits text mining research. It is true that many Societies publish under a hybrid model that permit certain articles to be OA, but on these occasions the author pays above and beyond for this "privilege" and thus these payment are outwith the normal economic model of society publishing. <br /><br />It is my view that most Societies would not be able to survive without the profits of their journals, and that Society journals will be among the last to move to a full OA (CC-BY) model. If indeed Societies are not sustainable under an OA model, then I feel it is incumbent on academics to ask if they are comfortable with the devil's bargain of ceding away their rights as authors (copyright and the right to reuse of their work by the wider academic community) in order to subsidize the specialized activities of a subset of the academic community. Similar to the profiteering by Elsevier, etc. I feel that many will eventually see that Societies are likewise using journals as cash cows, and question whether we should be using publicly funded money to funnel (via journals) funds to activities that benefit the few over the many.<br /><br />I should clarify that in principal I support Learned Societies, and value their historical role in promoting science over the last 400+ years. If there were alternative ways to fund societies that didn't rely on skimming from the public purse and blocking the unrestricted access of information to support their activities, I would be right there with you in calling for their continuation. But I fear they are something of a thing of the past that evolved under financial and technological circumstances that may no longer be relevant in the 21st century, and we may have to accept their passing and embrace new forms of outreach and networking that are not connected to unfair/unsustainable economics (e.g. free social media).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com