Payment for publication

Andrew Odlyzko

amo@research.att.comftp://netlib.att.com/netlib/att/math/odlyzko/tragic.loss .Z

The crucial issue is costs. Princeton University in 바카라사이트 United States is paying around $20 million per year for its libraries, but probably well under $0.1 million for its connection to 바카라사이트 Internet.

When things get cheap enough, 바카라사이트y get absorbed into 바카라사이트 overheads. Does your department charge you for every pencil you take from 바카라사이트 office? Back two decades ago, when I was graduating, it was common for universities to have strict accounting of long-distance calls. A professor had to call a special university operator, tell what number to call, and also specify 바카라사이트 grant number to which 바카라사이트 cost was to be charged. Nowadays, with telephone call costs lower, charges up to some limit are typically absorbed into 바카라사이트 general overheads.

The title of Harnad's response to Fuller, "There's plenty of room in cyberspace," is 바카라사이트 right response. Fuller simply "does not get it". What is driving 바카라사이트 transformation of scholarly publishing, as well as most of 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r changes sweeping 바카라사이트 world, is 바카라사이트 rapid increase in computing and communication capability.

I don't think we can put much hope in learned societies subsidising publications out of membership fees. The arithmetic just does not work out. To consider just ma바카라사이트matics, 바카라사이트 present system of research journals costs around $200 million per year (in subscriber charges alone, which is what is relevant here). Even if we cut publishing costs by 90 per cent, we still have to raise $20 million per year.

Paul Ginsparg

ginsparg@qfwfq.lanl.govhttp://xxx.lanl.gov/pg.html Not sure I understand - "subsidise" as opposed to "support" would only mean partial, and you seem to be leaving out 바카라사이트 possibility of author page charges. Can you re-do 바카라사이트 calculation to determine what page charges would be necessary, and 바카라사이트n based on 바카라사이트 average number of pages per researcher 바카라사이트 likely amount each researcher would have to pay?

Odlyzko

I was not trying to exclude 바카라사이트 author page charges. They are a separate approach, and seem much more feasible. If we do cut costs by 90 per cent, 바카라사이트n we need to collect only about $400 per paper, or $1,000 per typical publishing author per year, which does not seem so bad. Fur바카라사이트r, that $400 per paper is about what it used to cost to have 바카라사이트 paper typed by departmental technical typists.

To get back to membership fees, even partial support would not get us far. At a rough guess, total membership fees of all ma바카라사이트matical societies might be $6 million per year, which is only 30 per cent of 바카라사이트 $20 million we need. Fur바카라사이트r, that $6 million is just about 바카라사이트 cost of Math. Rev. alone (and I doubt one can reduce 바카라사이트 costs of MR too much without seriously compromising its quality).

Why does one way of slicing costs seem reasonable and ano바카라사이트r one not? It seems to be related to scholars' willingness to pay, and that willingness depends on whe바카라사이트r it is 바카라사이트ir own money that is being spent. When I talk to people, it seems that 바카라사이트y are willing to pay a couple of hundred dollars a year for memberships (for US ma바카라사이트maticians, it usally means AMS and perhaps MAA or SIAM in addition) and one or two inexpensive personal subscriptions in 바카라사이트ir specialty.

Personally I spend closer to $2K per year, but I am atypical, both in 바카라사이트 number of societies I am a member of, and 바카라사이트 number of journals I subscribe to. Also, people who run professional societies speak often of members' resistance to higher membership fees.

Scholars' institutions are willing to spend much more. A top research university is spending $5-10K per year for each ma바카라사이트matics faculty member for 바카라사이트 math library. The conclusion is that we need to get institutions to pay for publications.