http://www.archivesnext.com/?p=287

See http://archiv.twoday.net/stories/5711136/ (in German)

http://www.internationalpublishers.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=96&Itemid=251

Enhancing the Debate on Open Access

A joint statement by the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions and the International Publishers Association

The debate about open access in scholarly communication is an important opportunity for the international library and publishing communities to explore how technology and new business models can resolve the challenge of growing scholarly publishing output which puts pressure on publisher prices and library resources. IFLA and IPA welcome the widespread attention this extremely important issue has received. The debate has, however, occasionally been harmed by unnecessary polarisations and sweeping generalised statements.

IFLA and IPA believe that the time is right for the debate to develop, as hypotheses and speculation can gradually be enhanced by case-by-case experience and empirical data. The debate should be conducted in an open-minded way, encouraging experimentation and arguments based on empirical facts and following the principles of academic discourse.

IFLA and IPA share a common set of basic understandings and believe that the observance of the shared ground as set out below would enhance the overall debate.

1. IFLA and IPA value the contribution to scholarly communication that publishers and libraries have made and believe that mutual respect is important to enhance the quality of the public discourse on open access.
2. IFLA and IPA recognise that the concerns of academic authors must be at the heart of this debate - their scientific freedom, and their needs as researchers, teachers, authors, reviewers and users are paramount.
3. IFLA and IPA acknowledge that the broadest possible access to scholarly communications is an important shared objective and that potential access to all research by all researchers, irrespective of geographical location or institutional affiliation is a shared aspiration of libraries and publishers.
4. All assumptions surrounding open access and scholarly communications should be open to scientific scrutiny and academic debate. All stakeholders are encouraged to innovate, experiment and explore the new opportunities that technology brings.
5. IFLA and IPA recognise that access must be sustainable, i.e. that economic long-term viability and long-term archiving are important elements of this debate.
6. IFLA and IPA agree that the debate is most effective if it recognises the potential diversity of scholarly communication in different academic disciplines and different types of publications, e.g, research journals, review journals, monographs, text books, etc. IFLA and IPA support a debate that avoids general conclusions for all scholarly communication but gives a closer, differentiated focus on the potentially very different framework in various academic disciplines and types of publications.
7. Equally, scholarly publishers and their specific roles and functions can vary greatly. Scholarly publishing includes publishers with a variety of commercial and non-commercial affiliations and interests, outside and within the research community.
8. IFLA and IPA believe publishers, librarians, government and funding agencies should at this stage support innovation, experimentation and pilot schemes on access to scholarly publications. Pilot schemes should be accompanied by vigorous research and analysis that enables evaluation against measurable targets, that reflect the chief concerns of academic authors (as set out in Point 2), as the basis for an enriched, fact-oriented debate. As part of investigating the feasibility of open access, studies should also explore such matters as impact, transparency and economic models. Data should be shared openly among stakeholders or disclosed to allow open scrutiny. The results from these studies should provide better insight into the processes surrounding open access.

Dear faithful H-Net readers:

Having served as presidents of H-Net and for many years as working
editors for our various networks, we are addressing you with this appeal
for support to sustain our common organization through an approaching
time of great difficulty. The fact is that the recession finally has
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publications system and replace aging servers. But as we all well know,
the academic job market is in a severe slump, with dire consequences for
our organization.

In response the officers and council have been making some difficult
decisions to tighten belts and reduce expenses, seek out new sources of
revenue, and find ways to produce greater efficiencies. Our partners at
Michigan State University, including our computing host, Matrix, are
also facing adverse circumstances given our state's struggling economy,
but are helping out where they can.

But we still need your help. We are conducting a rare Spring donations
campaign to help us reduce the strain on our cash flow, enable us to
retain vital professional staff, and keep our services free and open.
We hope that the value you place on the diverse H-Net services provided
to you not only through our individual communities but through the
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Donations by U.S taxpayers are deductible and may receive favorable tax-treatment in other countries. There are three convenient modes for making donations:

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Sincerely,

Kelly Woestman
Professor of History
Pittsburg State University
President, H-Net
H-TEACH, H-TAH, H-TLH

Frank Conlon
Professor of History, Emeritus
University of Washington
H-ASIA

Kriste Lindenmeyer
Professor of History
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
H-SHGAPE, H-SAWH, H-CHILDHOOD, H-WOMEN

Robert Cherny
Professor of History
San Francisco State University
H-HOAC, H-CALIFORNIA, H-SHGAPE

Sara Tucker
Professor of History
Washburn University
H-TEACH

Steven Mintz
Director, Graduate School of Arts & Sciences Teaching Center
Columbia University
H-SLAVERY, H-FILM

Gus Seligmann
Associate Professor of History
University of North Texas
H-WEST

Paul Turnbull
Professor of History and Humanities, Head of Department
Griffith University
H-ANZAU

Jean Stuntz
Associate Professor of History
West Texas A&M
H-SAWH, H-WEST, H-WOMEN

http://www.lib.umich.edu/mdp/amendment.html

Text (36 pp.)
http://www.lib.umich.edu/mdp/Amendment-to-Cooperative-Agreement.pdf

Interesting:

Failure to Provide Access. Beginning on the Amendment Effective
Date, if Google fails to offer a free service to end users with respect to any work
in the Non-Settlement Digital Copy that Google has determined to be in the
public domain that enables end users to search, view and print the full text of that
public domain work (unless the Digital Copy of such work is excluded by Google
for quality, technical, or legal reasons) for (i) any period of six (6) contiguous
months or (ii) any two (2) periods of ninety (90) contiguous days, which periods
occur in any period of twenty-four (24) contiguous months, then all restrictions
and requirements set forth in the Agreement (including without limitation Sections
4.4.1, 4.4.2, and this 4.4.4) regarding use or distribution of the Digital Copy of
that public domain work for which Google failed to offer such services by U of M
or by any recipient entity will terminate, provided U of M has provided written
notice to Google of such failure and Google has not remedied such failure within
thirty (30) days following Google’s receipt of such notice.

The purpose of publishing public scientific data and collections of data, whether in the form of a paper, a patent, data publication, or deposition to a database, is to enable re-use and re-purposing of that data. Non-commercial terms prevent this in an unpredictable and unhelpful way. Share-alike and copyleft provisions have the potential to do the same under some circumstances.

[...]

“Where a decision has been taken to publish data deriving from public science research, best practice to enable the re-use and re-purposing of that data, is to place it explicitly in the public domain via {one of a small set of protocols e.g. cc0 or PDDL}.”

The advantage of this statement is that it focuses purely on what should be done once a decision to publish has been made, leaving the issue of what should be published to a separate policy statement.

http://blog.openwetware.org/scienceintheopen/2009/05/15/a-breakthrough-on-data-licensing-for-public-science/

See also
http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/2009/05/articulating-principles-for-open-data.html

http://wwmm.ch.cam.ac.uk/blogs/murrayrust/?p=1939

I agree with the new statement.

On the World Book and Copyright Day, Kopinor and the National Library of Norway signed a contract regarding a pilot project for digital books on the Internet.

Through the project, called Bokhylla.no (’Bookshelf’), the library will make all Norwegian books from the 1790s, 1890s and 1990s available on the Internet.

All titles from the 1990s and some titles from the 1890s – together approx. 50.000 books – are under copyright. These books will not be prepared for print or download, but will be made available to Norwegian IP-addresses. The licensing agreement will be supported by the Extended Collective License.

The Bookshelf project will be launched in May, with 10.000 books under copyright. More books will be introduced in 2009–10, and the project will continue until the end of 2011.

Representatives from the Ministry of Culture, the National Library and Kopinor made recommendations on the principles for licensing of the copyright protected material and for the payment of remunerations in March, 2009.

http://www.kopinor.org/avtaler/avtaleomraader/nasjonalbiblioteket

http://larchivista.blogspot.com/2009/05/cologne-archive-update.html

L'Archivista mentions the following articles in the English language:

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-germany-archives17-2009may17,0,5628154.story (the photo shows Professor Polley from the Marburg Archive School)

http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90853/6659324.html

L'Archivista: A brief piece centering upon a group of Czech archivists who volunteered at the site appears, interestingly, in the online edition of today's People's Daily (the official paper of China's Communist Party). According to this article, the Czech volunteers estimate that no more than 30 percent of the Cologne Archive's holdings will be "saved."

This figure contrasts quite sharply with that advanced by officials in Cologne: according to a recent Deutsche Press-Agenter news release, approximately 80 percent of the archive's holdings have been recovered. There is no evidence that the Czech archivists have better sources than the DPA.

Our last summary (by Frank Schloeffel) was from May, 7:

http://archiv.twoday.net/search?q=cologne

Nicholas Basbanes knew Father William Monihan, principal begetter of the University of San Francisco rare book collection. For his current thoughts on the sale of rare materials from the USF library, see
http://www.finebooksmagazine.com/nicholas_basbanes

In his piece, Basbanes mentions Brandeis University's proposed demolition of its Rose Museum. For a detailed account of the story so far there, see
http://thephoenix.com/Boston/Arts/82862-Will-Brandeis-sell-out-the-Rose/?page=1#TOPCONTENT
Greg Cook, the author of this "Boston Phoenix" article, points out that donors have long memories:
When you're giving your own money or your own heirlooms, you're personally invested. You're not likely to make a donation that might get pawned. Future gifts to Brandeis and other institutions will surely come with restrictions.

Cook concludes as follows:

If no art winds up getting sold, why we were put through this trauma in the first place? And either way, will Brandeis be forgiven? Much will depend on the degree to which we're all hurt by the global recession. But if an institution, in order to survive, has to sell what it was given in trust in other, words, to say, "We can't afford integrity" what does that say about where we all are?
To give Brandeis its due, the president of the University and its trustees did announce the sale of the Rose collection in advance, before actually taking action, thus (perhaps intentionally) opening themselves up to the possibility of alternate plans. What is most offensive about Stephen Privett's fire-sale merchandising at USF is the secrecy with which he clothed his actions.

From Terry Belanger via EXLIBRIS

On the USF case:
http://archiv.twoday.net/stories/5700203/

On the Brandeis case:

http://archiv.twoday.net/stories/5478553/

The University of Pittsburgh Press has made 500 out-of-print titles open access with a future fee-based print-on-demand option.

http://digital.library.pitt.edu/p/pittpress/

Here are the titles for the category "History -- General":

Title: After Marx, before Lenin : Marxism and socialist working-class parties in Europe, 1884-1914
Author: Steenson, Gary P., 1944-
Publication Info: Pittsburgh, Pa. : University of Pittsburgh Press, c1991.

Title: The dispute of the New World; the history of a polemic, 1750-1900.
Author: Gerbi, Antonello, 1904- cn
Publication Info: [Pittsburgh]: University of Pittsburgh Press, [1973]

Title: Echoes of two cultures.
Author: Young, Arthur Milton, 1900-
Publication Info: Pittsburgh,: University of Pittsburgh Press, [1964]

Title: Fifteenth century England.
Author: Hunt, Percival, 1878-
Publication Info: [Pittsburgh]: University of Pittsburgh Press, [1962]

Title: Legend builders of the West.
Author: Young, Arthur Milton, 1900-
Publication Info: [Pittsburgh]: University of Pittsburgh Press, [1958]

Title: Little common ground : Arab agriculture and Jewish settlement in Palestine, 1920-1948
Author: Kamen, Charles Samuel, 1939-
Publication Info: Pittsburgh, PA : University of Pittsburgh Press, c1991.

Title: Ludwig Bamberger : German liberal politician and social critic, 1823-1899
Author: Zucker, Stanley, 1936-
Publication Info: [Pittsburgh] : University of Pittsburgh Press, [1975]

Title: Michelangelo's David : a search for identity
Author: Seymour, Charles, 1912-
Publication Info: Pittsburgh : University of Pittsburgh Press, 1967.

Title: Nature in the New World : from Christopher Columbus to Gonzalo FernaÌndez de Oviedo
Authors: Gerbi, Antonello, 1904-, Gerbi, Antonello, 1904- Natura delle Indie nove. English.
Publication Info: Pittsburgh, Pa. : University of Pittsburgh Press, 1986, c1985.

Title: The Nazis in the Balkans; a case study of totalitarian politics.
Author: Orlow, Dietrich. cn
Publication Info: [Pittsburgh]: University of Pittsburgh Press, [1968]

Title: Not one man! Not one penny! : German social democracy, 1863-1914
Author: Steenson, Gary P., 1944-
Publication Info: Pittsburgh, Pa. : University of Pittsburgh Press, c1981.

Title: The Parlement of Paris after the Fronde, 1653-1673
Author: Hamscher, Albert N.
Publication Info: Pittsburgh : University of Pittsburgh Press, c1976.

Title: Progressivism and the open door; America and China, 1905-1921.
Author: Israel, Jerry.
Publication Info: [Pittsburgh]: University of Pittsburgh Press, [1971]

Title: Troy and her legend
Author: Young, Arthur Milton, 1900-
Publication Info: [Pittsburgh, Pa.] : Univ. of Pittsburgh Press, 1948.

Title: Weimar Prussia, 1918-1925 : the unlikely rock of democracy
Author: Orlow, Dietrich.
Publication Info: Pittsburgh, Pa. : University of Pittsburgh Press, c1986.

Title: Weimar Prussia, 1925-1933 : the illusion of strength
Author: Orlow, Dietrich.
Publication Info: Pittsburgh, Pa. : University of Pittsburgh Press, c1991.