Standing Up for Open Access

Professors at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology were perplexed: How could a membership organization that gladly accepts and archives their scholarly work turn around and limit transmission of the material?

MIT faculty have contributed roughly 350 papers in the last eight years to the Society of Automotive Engineers’ digital database, according to Ellen F. Duranceau, scholarship publishing and licensing consultant for MIT Libraries. They were used to sharing the technical papers found through the site with colleagues and viewing the material in multiple sittings.

But a policy enacted by SAE about two years changed the nature of the service. The group began requiring users to download a plug-in that prevented sharing encrypted documents over a network. Users could only view a paper on a single desktop computer and were allowed one printed copy per access code. No saving a copy to the computer. No photocopying. SAE also changed pricing models so that users were charged per view, Duranceau said.

Last month, MIT Libraries explained in a blog posting its decision to cancel access to the database because of the restraints. The decision set off a chain of events that has led SAE to reconsider its policy. The case shows, among other things, the extent to which faculty members will go to protect the free flow of academic information in a time when technology allows for greater research sharing.

Source: Inside Higher Ed