Eve Gray gave a presentation on OA to books at the recent conference, Commons Sense (Johannesburg, May 25-27, 2005) --the conference at which Creative Commons South Africa was launched. Gray was a consultant for South Africa's Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) and persuaded it to offer OA editions alongside the priced, printed editions of its research monographs. Her presentation is not online, but see this blog summary, a previous presentation on the same subject, or the HSRC press release on its OA publishing program. (Thanks to Matthias Spielkamp via Stevan Harnad.)
Excerpt from the press release: 'Most importantly, because the Press is partially funded by a Parliamentary grant, it seeks to establish itself as a resource for the public benefit. In practical terms, this means making HSRC publications as broadly accessible as possible within the public domain. In terms of the HSRC Press dual publishing philosophy, valuable academic research material can be accessed both in print and online. Printed copies of HSRC publications are available in bookstores, libraries and via online bookshops, while online versions can be downloaded (either as specific chapters or as entire publications) at no cost via the HSRC Press website. is the first fully-functional Open Access publishing website in southern Africa. "Printed journals and books have long been the traditional means of disseminating material. But modern technology offers even more in terms of distribution of knowledge," says Garry Rosenberg, Publishing Director for the HSRC Press. "Electronic publishing establishes the possibility of sharing information faster, and even for free. At a time when the privatisation of academic publishing is growing on the one hand, and economics are limiting independent publication on the other, it is important to create something that is owned and held collectively with no restriction on access."'
Also see this posting from Lawrence Lessig's blog this morning: 'One of the most interesting presentations at this fantastic conference was given by Eve Gray, of Eve Gray & Associates. Gray was asked to study the publishing strategy of the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) in South Africa. This research institution had a traditional strategy of publishing lots of research books, and selling them. Gray convinced them to change their strategy -- to give away all their research books for free online, and offer a high quality print-on-demand service for anyone who wants the paper version. The result: "the sales turnover of the publishing department has risen by 300%." As she concluded her presentation, "giving away books and lead to an increase in our book sales."'
Posted by
Peter Suber at 5/27/2005 09:35:00 AM.
The open access movement:
Putting peer-reviewed scientific and scholarly literature
on the internet. Making it available free of charge and
free of most copyright and licensing restrictions.
Removing the barriers to serious research.
