...It's time to shift the text-selling system from one between publishers and students to one between publishers and colleges. A consortium-style agreement between the latter two groups would make it advantageous for all publishers and higher-education institutions to participate. The consortium could charge participating colleges a single price for unlimited access, based on their number of full-time enrollments, or FTE's. Each college could then pass that charge on to students as part of tuition or through a dedicated fee, or even seek private donors to help defray the cost....
Institutions acting as single payers on behalf of their students would create cost efficiencies, allowing each student to pay a lower net cost for the single digital source than for purchasing textbooks individually. With the cost included in tuition or charged as a dedicated fee, students could then use financial aid to pay for access....
Most of the article focuses on textbooks, which students now buy directly from publishers. But in a few places Storch implies that he'd like to see the same solution for journals, which students do not buy directly from publishers:
...Those studying at community colleges and research universities, public and private, large and small, would have access to the same content, allowing them to browse, learn, and choose research areas based solely upon interest — not upon the limitations of their library, school subscriptions, or personal bank account....
Each publishing company, journal, or other content provider would receive a percentage of an institution's enrollment fee based on their market share, and when students select material, the provider would receive a royalty in the form of a "micropayment." ...
PS: Storch doesn't mention OA.
Posted by
Peter Suber at 2/04/2009 03:14:00 PM.
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.
I recommend the OA tracking project (OATP) as the best way to stay on top of new OA developments. You can read the OATP feed on a blog-like web page or subscribe to it by RSS, email, or Twitter. You can also help build the feed by tagging new developments you encounter.
