[Taxacom] OMG! OMG! Run for your lives! End of the World...

[Gustaf Mamangkey]

The cost is a year salary for scientists in under-developed countries.
Its a pity. I am not looking for a free charge submission journal but
reasonable for everyone.

Gustaf
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N. Gustaf F. Mamangkey, MSc, PhD

Molluscan Research Group
Faculty of Fisheries & Marine Sciences
Sam Ratulangi University
Jl. Kampus Bahu, Manado 95115, Indonesia
Homepage: http://mutiara-mutiara.blogspot.com/
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On Fri, May 7, 2010 at 7:13 AM, Bob Mesibov <mesibov at southcom.com.au> wrote:
> (Please note: I have no objection to e-only publication, with appropriate archiving.)
>
> That Solanum paper cost the author USD$1350 to publish in PLOS One. It would have been USD$2900 in Plos Biology (http://www.plos.org/journals/pubfees.php). This is cheap in comparison to what other scientific publishers are charging for open access, but still a hell of a lot of money. PLOS justifies their prices this way (in part, see http://www.plos.org/about/faq.php#pubquest):
>
> "More than US$2000 is a lot to pay to publish an article, isn't it?
> Not when you consider the cost of the research that led to the article.  Publication fees are a small fraction of the costs of doing research, and it makes sense for funding agencies to include these fees in research grants. Many <a href="http://www.biomedcentral.com/info/authors/funderpolicies/">funding agencies</a> now support this view.  They recognize that publishing is an integral part of the research process - and if the work is published OA it will deliver the maximum possible impact, which in turn maximizes the outcome of the funder's investment in research."
>
> I can't speak for all taxonomists, but $1350 doesn't sound like a small fraction of *my* costs to produce a paper. It sounds like my field work, my materials (morphology only), my SEM fees and museum-related costs, plus about USD$700 left over. What PLOS and other open-access publishers are trying to do is fund themselves out of research grants rather than subscriptions and sales. As their charges go up, taxonomists will need more funding to publish open access, and that's the last thing taxonomy needs: stiffer competition for the research dollar.
>
> Zoological taxonomy isn't quite so expensive at the moment. My last Zootaxa paper was a 52-page effort in 2008 that would have cost me 'only' USD$1040 for open access (optional). My most recent paper was 50 pp long and appeared in ZooKeys 6 weeks ago. ZooKeys requires open access but has a very generous policy on discounting page charges based on the circumstances of the author. It cost me USD$596, still not 'a small fraction of the costs of doing [my] research'.
>
> ZooKeys publisher Lyubomir Penev is a regular poster to Taxacom and list members will be aware of the other advantages ZooKeys has as a taxonomic outlet. Most of us are happy with the idea of open-access e-publishing in taxonomy, and some publishers are moving towards helping us. Others seem to be looking at open-access as their new cash cow. Caveat auctor.
> --
> Dr Robert Mesibov
> Honorary Research Associate
> Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, and
> School of Zoology, University of Tasmania
> Home contact: PO Box 101, Penguin, Tasmania, Australia 7316
> 03 64371195; 61 3 64371195
> Webpage: http://www.qvmag.tas.gov.au/mesibov.html
>
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-- 
N. Gustaf F. Mamangkey, SPi, MSc, PhD

Molluscan Research Group
Faculty of Fisheries & Marine Sciences
Sam Ratulangi University
Jl. Kampus Bahu, Manado 95115, Indonesia
Homepage: http://mutiara-mutiara.blogspot.com/