[Taxacom] Open Access taxonomy

Thu May 26 12:17:10 CDT 2011

Dear Vlad and Frank,

Thank you for the encouragement. I have a better example to show perhaps.
Recently we posted a press release on Epomis beetles preying on amphibians
(the article was published in ZooKeys last Friday). The press release was
associated with a video.

How many people do you think have viewed the video after posting?

Look here:

The video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KiT9qbvsIE

at the moment of posting of this message has been watched 131 035 times (!),
and people keep coming in from:

http://www.sciencenewsblog.com/blog/520111  .

Best regards,
Lyubo

On Thu, May 26, 2011 at 1:34 PM, Vladimir Blagoderov <vblago at gmail.com>wrote:

> Bravo, Lyubo! I was wondering how that spider found it's way to a Russian
> political review site:
> http://www.polit.ru/science/2011/05/18/spider_calommata.html
>
> Cheers,
>
> Vlad
>
>
> On 26 May 2011 04:55, L Penev <lyubo.penev at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> One important aspect of Open Access publishing, not yet touched in this
>> tread, is the possibility of unlimited dissemination starting right on the
>> day of publication. The academic world is only one of the consumers - very
>> important of course - of that information. Recently ZooKeys and PhytoKeys
>> launched a small press office and invite the authors to offer press
>> releases
>> on their published results. We edit and distribute the press releases
>> through massmedia networks. I must confess that the effect is spectacular!
>> Personally, I never expected that finding of "mysterious purse-web spiders
>> in South Africa", for example, will enjoy more than a thousand of hits
>> from
>> massmedia, blogs, science journalists, etc, just within few days after
>> posting. A large portion of readers come to see also the original
>> publication.
>>
>> Can one even compare the effect of this kind of dissemination with the
>> distribution of "paid-for" articles or their PDFs "among colleagues"?
>>
>> Taxonomy  does matter for the society! People are interested to see this
>> kind of news and understand how important biodiversity science is. We all
>> need however to put large effort in outreach activities. This is the way
>> to
>> change the landscape for a brighter future of taxonomy.
>>
>> Lyubomir
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> .
>>
>>
>> On Wed, May 25, 2011 at 11:33 PM, Bryan <pbryan.heidorn at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> > All true! We need to educate tenure and promotion committees of these
>> > problems as well.
>> >
>> > On Wed, May 25, 2011 at 12:43 PM,  <Frank.Krell at dmns.org> wrote:
>> > > "It seems that
>> > > scientists do not take personal responsibility for calculating the
>> > > costs of their publishing decisions while sitting behind their
>> > > computer monitors."
>> > >
>> > > With increasing job-insecurity, short-term contracts, tenured
>> positions
>> > fading away, and, on the other hand, increasing reliance of
>> administrators
>> > and auditors on metrics (Journal Impact Factor) or at least on where
>> > something is published (the "leading" journals) it is clear how
>> publishing
>> > decisions are made: Go to the 'best' possible journals, i.e. the ones
>> with
>> > the highest impact factor or the highest prestige. The majority of such
>> > journals are published by commercial publishers.
>> > >
>> > > Not many scientists have the luxury to think about availability of
>> their
>> > work, or the financial situation of libraries, or any other rational or
>> > philanthropic questions. They have to think about their next review.
>> > > Even if they enjoy the luxury of a permanent or tenured position, it
>> > seems to be the norm to go with the flow: It is expected to publish in
>> > prestigious, established journals. Oneself is proud to have a paper in
>> > Nature or Systematic Entomology, more so than in an innovative journal
>> like
>> > ZooKeys. A lot has to change in the sociology of academia to get out of
>> this
>> > vicious circle.
>> > >
>> > > Frank
>> > >
>> > >
>> > > Dr Frank T. Krell
>> > > Curator of Entomology
>> > > Commissioner, International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature
>> > > Chair, ICZN ZooBank Committee
>> > > Department of Zoology
>> > > Denver Museum of Nature & Science
>> > > 2001 Colorado Boulevard
>> > > Denver, CO 80205-5798 USA
>> > > Frank.Krell at dmns.org
>> > > Phone: (+1) (303) 370-8244
>> > > Fax: (+1) (303) 331-6492
>> > > http://www.dmns.org/science/museum-scientists/frank-krell
>> > > lab page: http://www.dmns.org/krell-lab
>> > >
>> > >
>> > >
>> > >
>> > >
>> > >
>> > >
>> > > -----Original Message-----
>> > > From: taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu [mailto:
>> > taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu] On Behalf Of Bryan
>> > > Sent: Wednesday, May 25, 2011 12:15 PM
>> > > To: taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu
>> > > Subject: Re: [Taxacom] Open Access taxonomy
>> > >
>> > > I agree with everyone's point of view in this thread to different
>> > > degrees but I need to point out the perspective of the library.
>> > > Subscription costs have far outpaced inflation for decades. Ah for the
>> > > good old days when library subscriptions were affordable. Since
>> > > information consumers are inoculated from the costs of the journals
>> > > they are inelastic and can rise disproportionately to value.
>> > > Researchers expect to be able to just go to the library and the
>> > > journals will be there "for free" and librarians have not been able to
>> > > control subscription costs.
>> > >
>> > > I do not intend to single out Elsevier but this was the first open
>> > > access reference I found and I do not mind singling out Elsevier since
>> > > they are so large. The following scenario repeats across the
>> > > publishing industry for all libraries.
>> > >
>> > > "The first round of big deal contracts with Elsevier were signed
>> > > shortly before the turn of the millennium. As these contracts expired,
>> > > the big deals were not as compelling a bargain as they had been when
>> > > first signed. The 7% compounded annual increase built into these
>> > > five-year contracts meant a 40% increase in the subscription price
>> > > over the life of the contract. Over the same period, from 1999-2004,
>> > > the US consumer price index rose by only 13%."
>> > > Theodore Bergstrom, Librarians and the terrible fix: economics of the
>> > > big deal. Serials: The Journal for the Serials Community. Volume 23,
>> > > Number 2 / July 2010. Pages: 77 - 82.
>> > >
>> >
>> http://uksg.metapress.com/openurl.asp?genre=article&issn=0953-0460&volume=23&issue=2&spage=77
>> > >
>> > > The subscription model is not broken or the publishers. I became
>> > > depressed for several days a couple of years ago when I met a
>> > > publisher in a state park in his 80ft air conditioned RV with foldaway
>> > > bar and nice scotch.. or so it seemed 80ft from my tent. The owner was
>> > > retired at age 50 after spending 15 years in publishing scientific
>> > > journals. He did share his scotch. The subscription model is not
>> > > obviously broken for researchers because they can "just" go to the
>> > > library and get the materials for free. We need publishing
>> > > alternatives if for no other reason than to put downward price
>> > > pressure on the publishers but that will only work if scientists
>> > > choose to publish is the more cost effective journals. It seems that
>> > > scientists do not take personal responsibility for calculating the
>> > > costs of their publishing decisions while sitting behind their
>> > > computer monitors.
>> > >
>> > > Bryan Heidorn
>> > > Director, School of Information Resources and Library Science
>> > > University of Arizona
>> > > On Wed, May 25, 2011 at 9:56 AM,  <Frank.Krell at dmns.org> wrote:
>> > >> Well, isn't that the reason why we have a library system? Not each
>> new
>> > reader has to pay to read. Yes, you need a library pass, and access to a
>> > library which has access to the literature you need. However, even when
>> I
>> > was a school kid, I managed to get almost all the literature I needed
>> > (scientific papers, I mean), with very little investment (train tickets
>> to
>> > the next library, interlibrary loan fees).
>> > >>
>> > >> Yes, it is much more efficient to stay glued in front of a computer
>> > screen and have everything readily on hand.
>> > >>
>> > >> And from the publisher's standpoint: The subscription model still
>> works.
>> > For example, if I want to eat a pizza, I pay for it and get it. Oh well,
>> > this is just the 99.999% of the world outside scientific publishing...
>> > >>
>> > >> Frank
>> > >>
>> > >>
>> > >> Dr Frank T. Krell
>> > >> Curator of Entomology
>> > >> Commissioner, International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature
>> > >> Chair, ICZN ZooBank Committee
>> > >> Department of Zoology
>> > >> Denver Museum of Nature & Science
>> > >> 2001 Colorado Boulevard
>> > >> Denver, CO 80205-5798 USA
>> > >> Frank.Krell at dmns.org
>> > >> Phone: (+1) (303) 370-8244
>> > >> Fax: (+1) (303) 331-6492
>> > >> http://www.dmns.org/science/museum-scientists/frank-krell
>> > >> lab page: http://www.dmns.org/krell-lab
>> > >>
>> > >>
>> > >>
>> > >>
>> > >>
>> > >> -----Original Message-----
>> > >> From: taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu [mailto:
>> > taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu] On Behalf Of Roderic Page
>> > >> Sent: Wednesday, May 25, 2011 10:39 AM
>> > >> To: Taxacom
>> > >> Cc: John Noyes
>> > >> Subject: Re: [Taxacom] Open Access taxonomy
>> > >>
>> > >> Dear John,
>> > >>
>> > >> Sure, there's no such thing as a free lunch. But there's an asymmetry
>> > between a one-time cost to publish, versus requiring each  new reader
>> having
>> > to pay to read. And that's even without considering the potential for
>> reuse
>> > that comes with (most) Open Access articles.
>> > >>
>> > >> Regards
>> > >>
>> > >> Rod
>> > >>
>> > >> On 25 May 2011, at 17:17, John Noyes wrote:
>> > >>
>> > >>> Well, I suppose it lies behind an "input" paywall (pay to publish)
>> or
>> > >>> output paywall (pay to access) or both. You take your pick. Very few
>> > >>> "open access" publications are open and free on either or both sides
>> of
>> > >>> the publishing spectrum. That includes Zookeys, Zootaxa, and Plos
>> One.
>> > >>> Someone has to pay somewhere.
>> > >>>
>> > >>> John
>> > >>>
>> > >>> John Noyes
>> > >>> Scientific Associate
>> > >>> Department of Entomology
>> > >>> Natural History Museum
>> > >>> Cromwell Road
>> > >>> South Kensington
>> > >>> London SW7 5BD
>> > >>> UK
>> > >>> jsn at nhm.ac.uk
>> > >>> Tel.: +44 (0) 207 942 5594
>> > >>> Fax.: +44 (0) 207 942 5229
>> > >>>
>> > >>> Universal Chalcidoidea Database (everything you wanted to know about
>> > >>> chalcidoids and more):
>> > >>> www.nhm.ac.uk/chalcidoids
>> > >>> -----Original Message-----
>> > >>> From: taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu
>> > >>> [mailto:taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu] On Behalf Of Roderic
>> Page
>> > >>> Sent: 25 May 2011 16:27
>> > >>> To: Taxacom
>> > >>> Subject: [Taxacom] Open Access taxonomy
>> > >>>
>> > >>> Dear All,
>> > >>>
>> > >>> At the risk of channelling Donat Agosti, I find it somewhat
>> depressing
>> > >>> that only two of the International Institute for Species
>> Exploration's
>> > >>> Top 10 new species for 2010 (http://species.asu.edu/Top10 ) were
>> > >>> published as Open Access articles (see
>> > >>>
>> >
>> http://iphylo.blogspot.com/2011/05/top-ten-new-species-described-in-2010
>> > >>> .html or http://tinyurl.com/3j69cw5 ).
>> > >>>
>> > >>> Choice of where to publish is obviously influenced by several,
>> > sometimes
>> > >>> conflicting criteria, but it's a pity that so much of taxonomy's
>> output
>> > >>> lies behind paywalls.
>> > >>>
>> > >>> Regards
>> > >>>
>> > >>> Rod
>> > >>>
>> > >>> ---------------------------------------------------------
>> > >>> Roderic Page
>> > >>> Professor of Taxonomy
>> > >>> Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine
>> > >>> College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences
>> > >>> Graham Kerr Building
>> > >>> University of Glasgow
>> > >>> Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK
>> > >>>
>> > >>> Email: r.page at bio.gla.ac.uk
>> > >>> Tel: +44 141 330 4778
>> > >>> Fax: +44 141 330 2792
>> > >>> AIM: rodpage1962 at aim.com
>> > >>> Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1112517192
>> > >>> Twitter: http://twitter.com/rdmpage
>> > >>> Blog: http://iphylo.blogspot.com
>> > >>> Home page: http://taxonomy.zoology.gla.ac.uk/rod/rod.html
>> > >>>
>> > >>>
>> > >>>
>> > >>>
>> > >>>
>> > >>>
>> > >>>
>> > >>>
>> > >>> _______________________________________________
>> > >>>
>> > >>> Taxacom Mailing List
>> > >>> Taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu
>> > >>> http://mailman.nhm.ku.edu/mailman/listinfo/taxacom
>> > >>>
>> > >>> The Taxacom archive going back to 1992 may be searched with either
>> of
>> > >>> these methods:
>> > >>>
>> > >>> (1) by visiting http://taxacom.markmail.org
>> > >>>
>> > >>> (2) a Google search specified as:
>> > >>> site:mailman.nhm.ku.edu/pipermail/taxacom  your search terms here
>> > >>>
>> > >>
>> > >> ---------------------------------------------------------
>> > >> Roderic Page
>> > >> Professor of Taxonomy
>> > >> Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine
>> > >> College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences
>> > >> Graham Kerr Building
>> > >> University of Glasgow
>> > >> Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK
>> > >>
>> > >> Email: r.page at bio.gla.ac.uk
>> > >> Tel: +44 141 330 4778
>> > >> Fax: +44 141 330 2792
>> > >> AIM: rodpage1962 at aim.com
>> > >> Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1112517192
>> > >> Twitter: http://twitter.com/rdmpage
>> > >> Blog: http://iphylo.blogspot.com
>> > >> Home page: http://taxonomy.zoology.gla.ac.uk/rod/rod.html
>> > >>
>> > >>
>> > >>
>> > >>
>> > >>
>> > >>
>> > >>
>> > >>
>> > >> _______________________________________________
>> > >>
>> > >> Taxacom Mailing List
>> > >> Taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu
>> > >> http://mailman.nhm.ku.edu/mailman/listinfo/taxacom
>> > >>
>> > >> The Taxacom archive going back to 1992 may be searched with either of
>> > these methods:
>> > >>
>> > >> (1) by visiting http://taxacom.markmail.org
>> > >>
>> > >> (2) a Google search specified as:  site:
>> > mailman.nhm.ku.edu/pipermail/taxacom  your search terms here
>> > >>
>> > >> _______________________________________________
>> > >>
>> > >> Taxacom Mailing List
>> > >> Taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu
>> > >> http://mailman.nhm.ku.edu/mailman/listinfo/taxacom
>> > >>
>> > >> The Taxacom archive going back to 1992 may be searched with either of
>> > these methods:
>> > >>
>> > >> (1) by visiting http://taxacom.markmail.org
>> > >>
>> > >> (2) a Google search specified as:  site:
>> > mailman.nhm.ku.edu/pipermail/taxacom  your search terms here
>> > >>
>> > >
>> > >
>> > >
>> > > --
>> > > Bryan Heidorn
>> > > University of Arizona
>> > > http://www.sirls.arizona.edu/heidorn
>> > >
>> > > _______________________________________________
>> > >
>> > > Taxacom Mailing List
>> > > Taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu
>> > > http://mailman.nhm.ku.edu/mailman/listinfo/taxacom
>> > >
>> > > The Taxacom archive going back to 1992 may be searched with either of
>> > these methods:
>> > >
>> > > (1) by visiting http://taxacom.markmail.org
>> > >
>> > > (2) a Google search specified as:  site:
>> > mailman.nhm.ku.edu/pipermail/taxacom  your search terms here
>> > >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > --
>> > Bryan Heidorn
>> > University of Arizona
>> > http://www.sirls.arizona.edu/heidorn
>> >
>> > _______________________________________________
>> >
>> > Taxacom Mailing List
>> > Taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu
>> > http://mailman.nhm.ku.edu/mailman/listinfo/taxacom
>> >
>> > The Taxacom archive going back to 1992 may be searched with either of
>> these
>> > methods:
>> >
>> > (1) by visiting http://taxacom.markmail.org
>> >
>> > (2) a Google search specified as:  site:
>> > mailman.nhm.ku.edu/pipermail/taxacom  your search terms here
>> >
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Dr Lyubomir Penev
>> Managing Director
>> Pensoft Publishers
>> 13a Geo Milev Street
>> 1111 Sofia, Bulgaria
>> Fax +359-2-8704282
>> www.pensoft.net
>> info at pensoft.net
>> _______________________________________________
>>
>> Taxacom Mailing List
>> Taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu
>> http://mailman.nhm.ku.edu/mailman/listinfo/taxacom
>>
>> The Taxacom archive going back to 1992 may be searched with either of
>> these methods:
>>
>> (1) by visiting http://taxacom.markmail.org
>>
>> (2) a Google search specified as:  site:
>> mailman.nhm.ku.edu/pipermail/taxacom  your search terms here
>>
>
>
>
> --
> Dr Vladimir Blagoderov, FLS
> Department of Entomology
> The Natural History Museum
> Cromwell Road, London
> SW7 5BD, UK
> Tel: +44 (0) 207 942 6629 (office)
> Tel: +44 (0) 207 942 6895 (SBIL)
>
> Fax: +44 (0) 207 942 5229
>
> e-mail:
> vlab at nhm.ac.uk
> vblago at gmail.com
>
> Fungus Gnats Online:
> www.sciaroidea.info
>
>

-- 
Dr Lyubomir Penev
Managing Director
Pensoft Publishers
13a Geo Milev Street
1111 Sofia, Bulgaria
Fax +359-2-8704282
www.pensoft.net
info at pensoft.net