... OCLC needs to develop a new policy regarding the transfer and use of
WorldCat records that results from a wide community review of issues;
from member library engagement that builds understanding and
consensus; and from a careful, widely discussed exploration of how the
policy will achieve articulated goals, including whether or how restraints
in record sharing may be needed. The currently proposed policy does not
meet these criteria. ...
See in particular this concern with the proposed policy, reminiscent of worries about "attribution stacking" for other data licenses/policies (see also our past posts on attribution stacking):
... The task force questions whether any policy that aims to limit the re-use of
individual records or portions of bibliographic data within records can be
effectively and fairly applied in the modern bibliographic environment.
Bibliographic records and data may now pass through many systems in the
course of their useful life, and be modified and enhanced many times by
different actors. Acknowledging and fairly compensating the contributions of all
parties is difficult at best. If each system owner were to assert control over all
subsequent uses at a micro level, the exchanges necessary for effective use of
bibliographic information would be seriously impeded. ...
... There is a danger of over-reaction in this. It is one thing to tell OCLC that the community believes its licensing policy was a mistake, its tone too “unilateral” and not conversational, and its process (essentially) pig-headed. It is another to envelop OCLC’s management in restrictive committee-based decision-making over matters that are vital to its survival ...
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.
