5.0012 Copyright & CNI (1/132)
Elaine Brennan & Allen Renear (EDITORS@BROWNVM.BITNET)
Wed, 8 May 91 21:57:55 EDT
Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 5, No. 0012. Wednesday, 8 May 1991.
Date: Sun, 5 May 91 08:47:44 CDT
From: robin@utafll.uta.edu (Robin Cover)
Subject: Copyright: CNI Supports University-Based Electronic Publishing
In Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 4, No. 1317. Saturday, 4 May 1991, Skip
Knox (DUSKNOX@IDBSU.BITNET) highlighted the importance of support from
professional societies as humanities scholars attempt to take control of
their own destinies in the domain of electronic publishing:
> Joel Goldfield makes a good suggestion; one that I would second and one
> which I will gladly volunteer to support. It would help if our effort
> had a sponsoring professional organization(s), but the sponsorship of
> individual universities will do for a start.
Joel Goldfield's posting left open the specific question of the delivery
system(s) for disseminating scholarly e-texts archived and shared by various
individuals, research coalitions and archive centers. While CDROM and
similar media may continue to play an important role in delivery for some
corpora, I feel sure the high-speed, high-capacity networks must be targeted
as the ideal system.
The Coalition for Networked Information is one group which has made
significant commitments to helping the academic community move toward a
university-based electronic publishing network. CNI was founded by
the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), CAUSE and EDUCOM in 1990 to
address concerns of the library and larger academic community within the
national NREN initiative (National Research and Education Network). The
coalition now has more than 120 institutional members. A partial description
of the CNI's commitment to networked electronic publishing may be found in
"Coalition for Networked Information: A University-Based Electronic Publishing
Network," by Jerome Yavarkovsky et al., in EDUCOM Review 25/3 (Fall 1990)
14-20. A summary of CNI's mission statement is printed in NYSERNet User
2/1 (Spring 1991) 6, or may be obtained in full from the CNI: Coalition for
Networked Information; Attention: Joan Lippencott; 1527 New Hampshire Avenue,
NW; Washington, DC 20036; Tel: (1 202) 232-2466.
The commitment of CNI to helping create a "scholarly publishing component
within the proposed NREN" is most encouraging. Its efforts alone will be
insufficient to realize the vision of an academic "Xanadu," but together
with the cooperation of the member institutions and full support from
professional societies on a global scale, many positive developments can
be imagined.
CNI is carefully tuned in to the problems of "copyright, ownership,
intellectual property, commercial monopolies on scholarly writing" and
so forth. The problems of ownership in academic writing will have to
be redressed in the new global publishing system, as is evident in this
summary of Ann Okerson's presentation at a CNI meeting. HUMANISTS not in
the US may pardon the nationalistic flavor in the first segment -- just
translate and apply to national initiatives in your respective countries:
"Incentives and Disincentives in Research and Educational Communication"
Printed in association with "Coalition for Networked Information:
A University-Based Electronic Publishing Network," by Jerome Yavarkovsky
et al. in EDUCOM Review 25/3 (Fall 1990) 14-20 [15].
by Ann Okerson
Director, Office of Scientific and Academic Publishing
Association of Research Libraries
In initiating the National Research and Education Network (NREN), the United
States is investing heavily in the future of the nation. The network is a
tangible expression of the government philosophy that innovation and
national distribution of knowledge are essential for the success of our
society in the next century: for personal standards of living, for national
advancement, and for expansion and competition internationally. The NREN
purposefully and knowingly gives great gifts directly to two segments: the
computer and telecommunications industry and innovative, bright people
engaged in research.
The facts that follow constitute the main incentives for the Coalition for
Networked Information to actively create and support a scholarly publishing
component within the proposed NREN:
* Prices for the printed products of scholarly publishing through the
private sector are increasing dramatically.
* The concentration of scholarly publication in the hands of a small group
of publishers is growing.
* In the current system--both commercial and non-profit--publishers ask the
authors of scholarly articles to assign copyright to the publisher as part
of the publication process. Thus articles based on work created largely
in universities and laboratories and paid for--and value added--largely at
public expense become the property of organizations that own the rights,
with the result that it is increasingly difficult for the public to own
and read publicly supported research.
* Foreign ownership of many publications is contributing to the rise in cost
of many publications because of the relatively weak U.S. currency.
* Copyright restrictions, inevitable delays, and evolving pay-for-use
strategies make document delivery through interlibrary loan only a partial
solution to access.
* Journals are becoming less important as the source in which research is
first reported.
Some of the things the Coalition can do to build a scholarly publishing
component into the network:
* Formulate a statement of principles, including a commitment to
availability, affordability, directories, friendly access.
* Take an active role in deliberations about privatization and
commercialization of the network.
* Formulate guidelines on intellectual property and economic issues.
* Develop ownership and copyright policies.
* Review academic incentives to give needed recognition to electronic
publication.
Reprinted with permission from EDUCOM Review 25/3 (Fall 1990) 14. ISSN
1045-9146. EDUCOM; 1112 16th Street, Suite 600; Washington, DC 20036;
Tel: (1 202) 872-4200; FAX (1 202) 872-4318.
Author address:
Ann Okerson
Director, Office of Scientific and Academic Publishing
Association of Research Libraries (ARL)
1527 New Hampshire Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036
Email (BITNET): okerson@umdc
Tel: (1 202) 232-2466
FAX: (1 202) 462-7849
---------
Robin Cover BITNET: zrcc1001@smuvm1 ("one-zero-zero-one)
6634 Sarah Drive Internet: zrcc1001@vm.cis.smu.edu
Dallas, TX 75236 USA Internet: robin@utafll.uta.edu ("uta-ef-el-el")
Tel: (1 214) 296-1783 Internet: robin@ling.uta.edu
FAX: (1 214) 841-3642 Internet: robin@txsil.lonestar.org