Inspired by Dorothea Salo's habit of calling herself a repository rat, Les Carr has looked into the other wildlife to be found the repository niche of the OA ecosystem. Some are solitary and some social; some are wild and some domesticated; some are hunters and some scavengers; some are preeners and some slovenly; and some are valued while some are vermin. He takes a stab at characterizing four repositories according to the animal behavior they embody.
PS: Compare this with a more systematic and prosaic study of the different policies and practices among repositories. At least the animal comparisons are more mnemonic and vivid. A professor of mine liked to say that the medieval comparisons of human traits with animals --busy as a bee, loyal as a dog, sly as a fox, stubborn as a mule, happy as a pig-- were more helpful than contemporary ethics and psychology.
Posted by
Peter Suber at 11/20/2008 03:05:00 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.
