Examination of Witnesses (Questions 276
- 279)
WEDNESDAY, 21 APRIL 2004
MRS JANE
CARR, PROFESSOR
M JAMES C CRABBE,
PROFESSOR JOHN
C FRY, PROFESSOR
NIGEL J HITCHIN
AND PROFESSOR
DAVID F WILLIAMS
Q276 Chairman: Thank you very much
for coming and playing the second half for us. Can I just say,
as you noted, perhaps, in the first half, I tried to induce a
little anti-diplomacy; you have one chance in this world to say
what you have been saying in coffee bars, restaurants and in universities
all your lives, so please, please do not feel frightened about
saying what you believe, because it will help us in our inquiry
and allow us to challenge some of the practices that are going
on. So please do that. How would you respond to the Public Library
of Science's contention that there is an inherent conservatism
in the scientific community about scientific publishing that needs
to be overturned? Professor Williams, would you like to take that
one on? Are you conservative?
Professor Williams: No, I do not
believe I am conservative, but I do not see that there is any
significant problem in S&T publishing at the present time.
I think it is a very robust situation. I am an academic, I run
a very large research group, I look at the functionality of my
laboratories at the present time and I think they have been enhanced
enormously in the last five years. My staff, my post-docs, my
students have immense access to a wide variety of publications
with tremendous facility. Comparing that to five years ago, the
time saved in technology is very, very significant. I do not think
there is conservatism here at all and I think it is in a very
good position at the present time.
Q277 Chairman: Other people on the
panel? Do you want to add to that or concur?
Professor Crabbe: Certainly in
biology I would say, and I speak for colleagues not only in my
own university but others that I know are at the forefront of
open access
Q278 Chairman: You are supportive
of it or anti?
Professor Crabbe: We are totally
supportive and we are, I would say, at the forefront of open access
for scientific literature.
Q279 Chairman: There is a split in
the academic community, is there not? Some people are not in favour
of it, we are told. Is that true, Professor Williams, or others?
Professor Williams: As far as
I am concerned there is a very significant split. I personally
am not in favour of open access, and for a variety of reasons.
If open access increases in popularity then so be it, and obviously
it is a very competitive situation and I think that is very fair.
Right now, in the way it is goingand I compare some of
the journals which I see in my own area with that which I edit
myselfI see a very big difference in quality. It is the
quality of the science that is being published and the quality
of the publication media that is of the greatest interest to me.
I think there is a big split.
Professor Hitchin: I agree. I
think up-front payments in particular are a big issue. They create
large problems for certain disciplines in one of the open access
models.
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