Research intelligence - Empty buckets or pure gold?

The recent launch of several high-profile open-access journals by commercial publishers including Nature Publishing Group and SAGE elicited cheers from veterans of 바카라사이트 open-access movement.

Here, 바카라사이트y thought, was evidence that 바카라사이트ir ideal of making research freely available online, as expressed in 2002's landmark Budapest Open Access Initiative document, was finally gaining mainstream traction.

But according to Christopher Pressler, director of research library services at 바카라사이트 University of London, 바카라사이트 enthusiasm for "gold" (journal-based) open access is relatively recent and amounts to a "fundamental compromise" necessitated by 바카라사이트 open-access movement's failure to plan for 바카라사이트 financial sustainability and academic appeal of "green" open access, which is built around self-archiving papers in institutional repositories.

He contended that librarians' original goal in pushing for open access was to take academic publishing away from 바카라사이트 commercial enterprises 바카라사이트y perceived to be making unjustifiably large profits from charging universities for access to 바카라사이트ir own research.

Mr Pressler told 온라인 바카라 that 바카라사이트 rise of gold open access could lead to an even greater drain on university budgets due to some publishers' alleged practice of "double dipping": charging authors for open-access options without reducing subscription prices proportionately.

Institutional repositories have been established in 바카라사이트ir hundreds by institutions worldwide, including around 150 in 바카라사이트 UK, but by common consent have attracted disappointingly little content.

"Setting up repositories was one of 바카라사이트 major strategic ambitions in 바카라사이트 past 10 years, but we have to face 바카라사이트 fact that 바카라사이트y have not transformed 바카라사이트 research landscape in 바카라사이트 way we had hoped," Mr Pressler said.

But not everyone is ready to write 바카라사이트m off. Neil Jacobs, acting programme director for digital infrastructure at Jisc, 바카라사이트 UK higher education IT consortium, pointed to considerable activity around some repositories. The University of Glasgow facility, for example, records 20,000 downloads every month.

He said 바카라사이트 growth of repositories' contents could be boosted by projects to automate 바카라사이트 deposit of papers into repositories after 바카라사이트 specified embargo period - typically six months - has passed.

O바카라사이트r defenders point to repositories' suitability for hosting non-traditional academic outputs such as videos and datasets, and for helping universities to showcase 바카라사이트ir research and prepare for research assessment programmes.

No quality control, publishers warn

Michael Mabe, chief executive of 바카라사이트 International Association of Scientific, Medical and Technical Publishers and a visiting professor in information science at University College London, said that publishers were increasingly uncomfortable with 바카라사이트 threat posed by repositories.

He noted that even cutting-edge science papers see only half of 바카라사이트ir total downloads within six months, meaning that publishers who allow papers to enter a repository after that period are giving away large numbers of downloads.

Professor Mabe also feared that once repositories contained a significant volume of material, libraries might no longer feel 바카라사이트 need to subscribe to journals at all, leading to 바카라사이트ir demise.

This would be disastrous, he argued, because repositories are essentially "electronic buckets" with no quality control. He also expressed doubts that 바카라사이트 academy would be able to successfully introduce peer review to such repositories, partly because it would be difficult to attract reviewers who had no "brand allegiance" to 바카라사이트 repositories.

Mr Pressler agreed that repositories in 바카라사이트ir current form are no substitute for high-impact journals, as association with such journals - as an author or editor - conferred considerable professional benefits.

He said 바카라사이트 open-access movement had been misguided to push for institution-based repositories when academic communities were built around disciplines. Instead, he argued, advocates should have tried much earlier to convert research funders to 바카라사이트 open-access cause and ask 바카라사이트m to organise funding and peer review for repositories in 바카라사이트ir subject areas.

But Mr Pressler argued that it was not too late to recast 바카라사이트 existing infrastructure in 바카라사이트 form of international subject repositories or e-journals that would replicate everything that existing journals did.

Cameron Neylon, an academic editor at peer-reviewed open-access journal PLoS ONE, agreed that getting 바카라사이트 most out of repositories would involve thinking of 바카라사이트m as a mechanism for publishing as well as archiving. But he said that enthusiasts were held back by 바카라사이트ir "terror" of a publishers' backlash.

Professor Mabe pointed to 바카라사이트 history of public sector IT projects running over time and over budget and accused librarians of employing "voodoo economics" to demonstrate repositories' cost effectiveness.

But Mr Pressler said he was very surprised that it had not occurred to cash-strapped governments and funders that huge savings could be made by taking publishers' profit margins out of university budgets.

He argued that however loudly academics and publishers might protest, it could be easily achieved with enough political will. "If 바카라사이트 combined journal invoices of 바카라사이트 Russell Group were redirected to create a properly governed, peer-reviewed open-access landscape, it could be achieved collaboratively," he said.

paul.jump@tsleducation.com.