Open Access News

Christopher V. Hollister, The Economics of Open Access, Communications in Information Literacy, 2, 1 (2008).  (Thanks to PKP.)  Excerpt:

Year one for Communications in Information Literacy (CIL) is in the books. We can say this literally; the print version of Volume One is now available through the online print-on-demand [POD] service Lulu. When co-editor Stewart Brower and I announced this, we received a number of email messages concerning our distribution method, and in general, our open-access economic model. One note came from Susan Searing, suggesting that "the welter of publishing and commerce models out there is making life very difficult for selectors and acquisitions librarians." She continued, "You've just added another strange twist —annual volumes that have to be ordered like books." Searing concluded her message by proposing that we revisit other revenue-generating economic models commonly adopted by open-access publications: advertising, institutional sponsorship, and author fees.

We wish to assure our readership that a substantial amount of research and deliberation went into the development of our economic model, which includes the provision of our print-on-demand service....To begin with, CIL's present financial needs are minimal. The modest income generated from Lulu serves us very well....

Concerns about making the distribution of our print volumes more library-friendly are valid and understandable. However, we believe this is more of an issue for subscription vendors and book jobbers than it is for publishers. Stewart and I believe that the future of paper-based publishing is print-on-demand: It is more efficient, there is better return on investment, and it is better for the environment. As a matter of viability, subscription vendors and book jobbers will need to devise mechanisms for working with print-on-demand services en masse, rather than title by title. We see this beginning to happen already....Although standing orders are not currently an option, we are developing an invoice-driven distribution system through the CIL site. Stay tuned.

This brings us back to the issue of economics. Our print-on-demand service generates modest, but necessary income. In keeping with the "PBS model" ["plead, beg and steal"] CIL also accepts donations by check or by PayPal. We considered author fees, but not for long. Stewart is more diplomatic in his explanation; he believes this model discourages first-time authors or any others who lack financial backing. I believe it reflects badly on any publisher that stipulates author fees, and I believe the practice is regressive at best....

PS:  CIL is completely open about its financing and discloses its hosting expenses and revenue from Lulu.com.