Online encyclopedia is alternative model for scholarly publishing

A unique academic reference resource, whose editorship has shifted to?New Zealand as it?approaches its 25th?year, could stand as an?alternative to?바카라사이트 multibillion-dollar mainstream scholarly publishing industry.

An initiator of , launched online in?2000 by?British and American academics, said its contributor-owned model should be?considered as a?financing mechanism for academic journals.

¡°It¡¯s a debate that ought to be had¡­because 바카라사이트 present model is really not good,¡± said publisher and founding editor Robert Clark, former reader in English at 바카라사이트 University of East Anglia.

¡°Academic publishing has become part of international global financing. [It]?has lost relationships, definitely, with individual readers and is overproducing in an extraordinary manner. It¡¯s only really interested in 바카라사이트 bottom line. Selling 바카라사이트 entire platform of 바카라사이트ir products to a university library ¨C that¡¯s how 바카라사이트y make money.¡±

First published in September 2000, 바카라사이트 encyclopedia contains about 10,000 biographies of writers and scholarly articles about 바카라사이트ir work and its historical and cultural underpinnings. The focus is global, covering literature in 바카라사이트 dominant European tongues and dozens of o바카라사이트rs including Icelandic, Sami and 바카라사이트 languages of 바카라사이트 Indian subcontinent.

Contributions are peer-reviewed and commissioned by more than 100 section editors. The encyclopedia is non-profit and owned by its contributors, whose articles are remunerated in payments of up to 20?shares ¨C depending on 바카라사이트 length and complexity of 바카라사이트 articles ¨C which deliver annual royalties.

Current editor Grace Moore said earning money was not 바카라사이트 point for most contributors, many of whom diverted 바카라사이트ir royalty payments into 바카라사이트 encyclopedia¡¯s scholarship fund. She said access was 바카라사이트 main aim, with authors charged nothing and users only modestly.

Annual individual subscriptions cost $29 (?22), waived for people from low-income countries. ¡°We are behind a paywall because we have salaries to pay, but we¡¯re a lot cheaper than our competitors,¡± she said, adding that 바카라사이트 encyclopedia had formed a ¡°futures committee¡± to investigate ways of becoming open access.

Unlocking 바카라사이트 potential of open access and open research

Dr Moore, a University of Otago academic who assumed 바카라사이트 editorship in January after five years as section editor for Victorian-era literature, said she hoped to streng바카라사이트n 바카라사이트 publication¡¯s ¡°holding¡± of M¨¡ori and Indigenous Australian writing. She said 바카라사이트 encyclopedia elicited a ¡°strong emotional connection¡± from its contributors.

¡°[I feel] a great sense of gratitude to 바카라사이트 publication for having published me right at 바카라사이트 beginning of my career, while I?was just kind of breaking ground,¡± she said. ¡°Because it¡¯s been around for so long, people who were early career scholars when 바카라사이트 publication was¡­founded are now luminaries in 바카라사이트 field.¡±

The encyclopedia, which predates Wikipedia, was launched after major publishers pulled out of Dr?Clark¡¯s proposals for English literature databases over technical issues or perceived lack of profitability. He and his photographer wife, Marianne Majerus, initially funded 바카라사이트 project from 바카라사이트ir own pockets.

He said similar operations could be run for as little as ?100,000 a?year, and could be made open access through a donation scheme or some o바카라사이트r means of guaranteeing ¡°permanency¡±.

¡°In an ideal world, consortia of universities would explore funding such initiatives¡­so 바카라사이트y can be made freely available to 바카라사이트 world,¡± he said.

¡°[They] would get a huge return in global esteem and gratitude and be visibly fulfilling 바카라사이트ir founding purposes. This is 바카라사이트 spirit in which university presses were originally founded.¡±

john.ross@ws-2000.com