[Irtalk] The Embargoes Don’t Work: The British Academy provides the best evidence yet | PLOS Opens

[Hilton Gibson]

Any publisher, if they want to survive, has to compete with the free
circulation of scholarly documents – both ‘grey’ literature and the
circulation of copies of the version of record. That competition just got a
bit tougher with the advent of the internet.

*Embargoes are an artificial monopoly created to make the competition a bit
less fierce. But truly, if a publisher believes that they add value and
wants to be competitive then why should they fear a Word doc sitting on the
web? Indeed if they do it suggests a lack of confidence in the additional
value that they offer in the version of record.*

The best way to give yourself that confidence is to be tough on yourself
and take a good look at how and where you add value. And the best way to do
that is to compete successfully with “free”.

http://blogs.plos.org/opens/2014/05/14/embargos-dont-work-british-academy-provides-best-evidence-yet/
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