Re: Equitable Mathematics

[Michael Barr <barr@barrs.org>]

I like the idea of publishing ourselves, but I don't like titles like Fair
(or Equitable) Topology.  You would have to ask a lawyer about this, but
in general book titles cannot be copyrighted and I would assume the same
is true of journals.  Certainly it would seem insane to allow anyone to
own a generic name like "Topology".  So, assuming it is allowed, why not
start a journal called just "Topology".

But another thing we can do is just support, in every possible way,
journals that are reasonably priced.  I have just had a paper accepted for
the journal Mathematica Japonica, published by the Japanese Math Soc.

I think one way that the whole scene went off the rails was the highly
specialized journals like J. Algebra, Topology, and so on.  They were and
are low-circulation (circulation numbers are trade secrets) and have come
to be very expensive.  JPAA was up to nearly $4000 for 2100 pages when
McGill stopped subscribing about ten or twelve years ago.  I don't know
what it is now, but I know they were losing subscribers steadily and may
be down to a couple hundred by now.  Of course, Elsevier is now primarily
in the business of selling universities their entire journal selection in
electronic form, so subscription numbers are meaningless.  But I do know
that most of McGill's journal budget is now going to these deals.  But
when, at some future date, McGill withdraws from this, not only do they
lose their access to future publications, but also past.  You are not
buying access, only renting it.  That is why I have copied all my papers
that are currently available onto my ftp site.

We need not only a McGill J., but also a UQAM J., a U de M J. and a
Concordia J.  Along with Toronto, York, UBC, ....  No one would represent
a great deal of work (start-up would involve less work than it did for
TAC, since we would make our experience available).

I can only hope that Elsevier's days on academic publishing are numbered,
along with all the rest of them.

Michael

On Mon, 18 Dec 2006, joyal.andre@uqam.ca wrote:

> Mike Barr is raising up an important point.
> We should look at the problem from an economical point of view.
> The true buyers of scientific journals are the university librairies,
> not the scientists. There is a demand for low-price-high-quality
> scientific journals. The mathematical community is the producer.
> The publisher is the intermediate. The prices are artificially high.
> We may need an organisation of Equitable Mathematics.
> The organisation should be supported financially by
> the university librairies and the mathematical associations.
>
> The editorial board of Topology has resigned to protest the
> price of the journal. I admire their political gesture
> but unfortunately, it has a drawback:
> a prestigious journal has disappeared.
> I have a crazy idea:
> Topology could be resurrected as a cloned called Equitable Topology.
> The new journal could have the same editorial board as late Topology,
> if the editors agree.
> Other expensive mathematical journals could be duplicated
> with an Equitable clone having the same editorial board.
>
> I am aware of the organisational difficulties of
> realising the idea of Equitable Mathematics.
> To be successful, it will have to be done very seriously.
> It should be economically sound.
> Maybe the mathematical associations should be involved
> in the organisation.
>
> Andre
>
>
>
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