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Abstract

An argument for extending the circulation of knowledge with new publishing technologies considers scholarly, economic, philosophical, and practical issues. Questions about access to scholarship go back farther than recent debates over subscription prices, rights, and electronic archives suggest. The great libraries of the past - from the fabled collection at Alexandria to the early public libraries of nineteenth-century America - stood as arguments for increasing access. In The Access Principle, John Willinsky describes the latest chapter in this ongoing story - online open access publishing by scholarly journals - and makes a case for open access as a public good. A commitment to scholarly work, writes Willinsky, carries with it a responsibility to circulate that work as widely as possible: this is the access principle. In the digital age, that responsibility includes exploring new publishing technologies and economic models to improve access to scholarly work. Wide circulation adds value to published work; it is a significant aspect of its claim to be knowledge. The right to know and the right to be known are inextricably mixed. Open access, argues Willinsky, can benefit both a researcher-author working the best-equipped lab at a leading research university and a teacher struggling to find resources in an impoverished high school. Willinsky describes different types of access - the New England Journal of Medicine, for example, grants open access to issues six months after initial publication, and First Monday forgoes a print edition and makes its contents immediately accessible at no cost. He discusses the contradictions of copyright law, the reading of research, and the economic viability of open access. He also considers broader themes of public access to knowledge, human rights issues, lessons from publishing history, and "epistemological vanities." The debate over open access, writes Willinsky, raises crucial questions about the place of scholarly work in a larger world - and about the future of knowledge.

Footnote

Rez. in: JASIST 58(2007) no.9, S.1386 (L.A. Ennis): "Written by John Willinsky. Pacific Press Professor of Literacy and Technology at the University of British Columbia and Open Journals Systems Software des eloper. the eighth hook in the Digital Libraries and Electronic Publishing series (edited by William Y. Arms) provides a compelling and convincing argument in favor of open access. At the core of this work is Willinsky's "access principle." a commitment that "research carries with it a responsibility to extend circulation of such work as far as possible and ideally to all who are interested in it and all who might profit from it" (p.xii). One by one Willinsky tackles the obstacles. both real and perceived, to open access. succeeding in his goal to "inform and inspire a larger debate over the political and moral economy of knowledge" (p.xiv). The author does note the irony of publishing a hook while advocating for open access, but points out that he does so to reach a larger audience. Willinsky also points out that most of the chapters' earlier versions can be found in open-access journals and on his Web site (http://www.11ed.educubc.ca/faculty/willinsky.html). The Access Principle is organized topically into thirteen chapters covering a broad range of practical and theoretical issues. Taken together. these chapters provide the reader with an excellent introduction to the open-access debate as well as all the potential benefits and possible impacts of the open-access movement. The author also includes six appendices. with information on metadata and indexing. os er twenty pages of references, and an index. ... All of Willinsky's arguments arc convincing and heartfelt. It is apparent throughout the hook that the author deeply believes in the principles behind open access. and his passion and conviction come through in the work. making the hook a thought-provoking and very interesting read. While he offers numerous examples to illustrate his points throughout the work. he does not. however. offer solutions or state that he has all the answers. In that, he succeeds in his goal to craft a hook that "informs and inspires. As a result, The Access Principle is an important read for information professionals, researchers, and academics of all kinds, whether or not the reader agrees with Willinsky."