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Subject: Open access monographs

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  • From: Gary Hall <gary AT garyhall.info>
  • To: Sean Cubitt <scubitt AT unimelb.edu.au>
  • Cc: ohp AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [OA-monographs] Monograph thoughts
  • Date: Sat, 21 Jun 2008 15:17:47 +0100

Dear Sean,

Thanks, this is really helpful. And no, I don't think this is material we have already talked through. To continue the conversation...

I wonder if it wouldn't be easier, cheaper and quicker to publish a lot of the material you mention - books that go out of print and whose rights revert to the authors, specialist monographs published in xerox or photolitho, those which have exhausted their commercial potential or which have no commercial potential - in a subject-orientated or institutional OA repository? One of the ideas behind the CSeARCH archive I'm involved with via Culture Machine, for instance (http://www.culturemachine.net/csearch), is to make this possible with regard to books and monographs that are cultural studies and cultural theory-related. But I'm not trying to self-publicize: there are of course many other such OA archives (although you're right, not all of them accept books, I know).

My experience of being involved with the launch of OHP was being on the receiving end of a number of queries as to if and when OHP was going to be producing monographs. And my sense was that this was motivated, not so much by a desire to have access to hard-to-get titles from the past - although I agree with you, this is very important - but more in response to the general 'crisis' in monograph publishing in the humanities in the present. People in the humanities are simply finding it harder and harder to publish research-led books. And yet it's often these books that they're most interested in writing and which they feel can make a significant contribution to the field. It's certainly on research led monographs that their careers often depend.

I very much like the idea of creating a pedagogical link between the idea of OHP publishing monographs and those departments and institutions that are producing skilled professionals for the publishing world. Long term it'd also be a great way of breaking down some of the simplistic oppositions between publishers on the one hand and academics on the other associated with OA.

Thanks, Gary


--
Gary Hall Professor of Media and Performing Arts
School of Art and Design, Coventry University
Co-editor of Culture Machine http://www.culturemachine.net
Director of the Cultural Studies Open Access Archive
http://www.culturemachine.net/csearch
Co-founder of the Open Humanities Press
http://www.openhumanitiespress.org
My website http://www.garyhall.info



Sean Cubitt wrote:
Dear Colleagues

A coup,e of swift thoughts, as I have deadlines to chase this weekend

1. there are numbers of books which go out of print every year. Standard
contracts seem in general to revert rights to authors. Republishing
significant lost humanities titles, especially those whose specialism or
timeliness militates against republication might eb a significant activity
to broker. If scanned, such texts require a lot less production.

2. I presume Mark davis is on this list - mark's department and no doubt
others across the world produce highly skilled professionals for the
publishing industry. There might be a possibility of creating a pedagogical
link to the mutual benefit of both parties

3. In my current research I keep coming up on 1960s and 70s specialist
monographs published in what appears to be xerox or photolitho, especially
in history and phlosophy of science. Unless a learned society has a
monographs arm titles like 'The History of Colorimetry and Sensitometry' are
not going to have a commercial life, but as in that case, sean F Johnston's
book is the making of mine. I suppose my contention is really this

Whiuch monographs most benefit from digital publishing?
- those which have already exhausted their commercial potential
- those which have no commercial potential
- those which are urgently attached to the present - such titles might be
revised for hardcopy publication, so might be considered pre=press, on the
scientific model

There may also be a category for which hyperlinking is of value, or the
cheapness of colour reproduction

My apologies if this is all material you've have talked through already, and
thanks for inviting me to participate

Sean



Prof Sean Cubitt
scubitt AT unimelb.edu.au
Director
Media and Communications Program
Faculty of Arts
Room 127 John Medley East
The University of Melbourne
Parkville VIC 3010
Australia

Tel: + 61 3 8344 3667
Fax:+ 61 3 8344 5494
M: 0448 304 004
Skype: seancubitt
http://www.culture-communication.unimelb.edu.au/media-communications/
http://homepage.mac.com/waikatoscreen/
http://seancubitt.blogspot.com/
http://del.icio.us/seancubitt

Editor-in-Chief Leonardo Book Series
http://leonardo.info

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--
Gary Hall Professor of Media and Performing Arts
School of Art and Design, Coventry University
Co-editor of Culture Machine http://www.culturemachine.net
Director of the Cultural Studies Open Access Archive
http://www.culturemachine.net/csearch
Co-founder of the Open Humanities Press
http://www.openhumanitiespress.org
My website http://www.garyhall.info









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