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Title:
"Open Access: Key Strategic, Technical and Economic Aspects"
Review:
If you know nothing about the open access debate, then this book will
surely inform you and make you an advocate for the cause. "Open
Access: Key Strategic, Technical and Economic Aspects" is composed of
twenty thoughtfully researched and well written chapters that bring
the open access debate into the public sphere.
The open access dispute has been raging in the scholarly world for
more than a decade, tracing part of its origins to the 'serial crisis'
that began in academic libraries more than twenty years ago. Neil
Jacobs has gathered leaders in this debate to contribute their
thoughts, observations and research toward a book that can be equally
appreciated by scholars as well as the general public.
The initial chapters detail the history of the open space argument. In
addition, a succinct open access definition is developed by Charles W.
Bailey, Jr., which assists readers and scholars in understanding the
concepts and reasons behind the open access debate.
The second half of the book is devoted to the economic aspect of open
access and its effect in other countries. These chapters present a
major argument of the book, which contends that open access is more
economically effective for the publishing industry as well as academic
libraries. Other chapters look at open access around the world, but
focus mainly on the industrialised world, including the United States,
the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. India is given as the only
example of a newly industrialised country dealing with the open access
debate.
The final chapters of the book look at the future of open access and
take a speculative position with the ultimate conclusion being that a
'deep realignment', as Neil Jacobs states, needs to occur before the
open access debate is concluded.
While reading "Open Access", I found that there was not much attention
given to the legal aspects of the open access debate. In fact, only
Clifford Lynch, in his futuristic chapter on open access, spends some
time discussing the legal challenges of an open access reality. In
addition, the book has a distinct Eurocentric focus that detracts
slightly from the notion that open access is a worldwide concern.
In his chapter, Stevan Harnad openly asks, 'Is open access needed?' He
concludes that it is needed because the evidence suggests that access
has not been maximised. The chapters in this book do the same to
present the case for open access. Neil Jacobs has done a considerable
task of organising this book to build upon each authors' line of
reasoning to support the open access argument.
I would highly recommend this book for its excellent overview of the
open access debate as well as its ability to discuss a complex
argument so concisely. This book should be viewed as a cornerstone in
bringing the open access debate into the public forum -- a discussion
that will be benefits scholars, researchers and the public worldwide.
FreePint Reviewer:
Michael Gutierrez is a reference librarian at the University of
Delaware Library and is currently obtaining
his doctorate in Education Technology.
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