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March
11, 2006
Open and free
to the public?
by Richard Hull
The Journal
of Neuroscience, a publication of the Society for Neuroscience,
has responded to the National Institutes of Health's demand for unrestricted
access to articles resulting from research NIH sponsors with an interim
policy of allowing unrestricted access to the public to articles six
months after publication. The previous delay was 12 months. In order
to compensate the journal for the nearly complete loss in subscription
revenue from libraries and individuals expected to result, it has raised
its submission fee to $75 and its publication fee to $750 per regular
article.
Strong arguments
for immediate open access derive from proponents' observations that
the taxpayer pays for the research and the results should thus be freely
available, that open access promotes research and furthers the mission
of public education. Anticipating the move to immediate access poses
serious financial restructuring of the journal's income lines.
In addition to
increased fees, the journal is considering increasing member dues that
go to the journal, and eliminating of print editions. Eliminating the
limits of print editions will also permit increasing the number of papers
published. This, in turn, will increase reviewing demands and costs.
A working group
has been created to continue discussion of these and other options,
and it invites interested parties to provide input. The online forum
can be accessed at http://forums.sfn.org.
The article, in the form of a Message from the President, Stephen Heinemann,
appears in the Winter 2006 Neuroscience Quarterly, a publication
of the Society for Neuroscience.
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Professorship
in Bubbly
by Richard Hull
The academic job
of a lifetime has just been announced. The Reims Management School in
France is looking for a professor of champagne. The chaired professorship
is sponsored by the union of champagne producers and by big name companies
such a Krug and Veuve Cliquot. The research required will initially
cover marketing issues. See www.reims-ms.fr.
And let us know if you get the job!
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Google, Publishers
on One Side, Authors, Lawyers on the Other
by Richard Hull
Google Inc.'s library
book-scanning project drew a lawsuit from both the American Association
of Publishers and the Authors Guild, but now some publishers have joined
Google's side of the controversy. HarperCollins has announced it would
make its entire backlist, about 20,000 titles, available on line, and
authors are scrambling to review book contracts. Many book contracts
between publishers and authors make no mention of publishers getting
electronic, digital or display rights. And those that do can let a book
go out of print but not revert copyright back to the author by keeping
the work in the publisher's digital archive. Simon & Schuster put
electronic rights clauses into its contracts in the mid-1980s. Time-Warner
caught up with this trend in the mid-1990s. But none of these refinements
affect contracts that were signed before the issue of electronic rights
was addressed, and electronic publishers have been bypassing publishers
and getting digital rights directly from authors. Attempts by publishers
to enjoin the practice have failed in court. Similarly, the New York
Times and other publications have been ordered to compensate freelance
writers and photographers because their contracts did not grant publishers
the right to republish works in electronic databases such as Lexis-Nexis
or on a CD-ROM. More about this issue may be found in Eriq Gardner's
"Pulling Back the Covers" in the February 2006 issue of IP Law &
Business.
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Three Candidates
Running for Seats on TAA Council
Three TAA members
are running for two open seats on the TAA Council. Mathematics author
Don Collins is running for his second term. He is a former managing
editor of mathematics at Merrill Publishing (now Glencoe Publishing),
and the author of seven school mathematics textbooks. Because of his
publishing and authoring background, Collins said he feels he can make
a unique contribution. "The last three years that I have served on the
Council have been a learning experience for me," he said. "I feel that
this experience will only help me in better serving you and TAA." Communication
law author Paul Siegel chaired TAA's convention in San Antonio, and
is a former member of the TAA Council. He said these experiences helped
in develop an understanding of some of the organization's challenges:
"I look forward to the chance to help the association meet those challenges."
Mary Kay Switzer, a communications author, has been an active member
of TAA as a former TAA Council member and Council secretary. She also
served as chair of the TAA Convention in 1997. "Through the years I
have been an active member of TAA," she said. "I support its mission
and want to continue to develop innovative ways to promote the welfare
of TAA members and the constituents it serves." TAA Council members
serve three-year terms. Ballots must be postmarked by April 15, 2006
to be counted. For full candidate bios and position statements, see
below.
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2006
TAA Council Elections:
Candidate Biographies and Position Statements
Don W.
Collins is a native Texan, but has lived several places throughout
the U.S. He has a B.S. in mathematics from West Texas A&M
University, an M.A. in mathematics from Boston College, a CAS
degree from North Illinois University, and an Ed.D. in curriculum
and instruction from the University of Houston. He taught public
school for seven years in Texas and Illinois. He also worked in
educational publishing for 21 years. He was managing editor of
mathematics at Merrill Publishing (now Glencoe Publishing, a subsidiary
of McGraw-Hill). He taught at the university level at Ohio State
University, Sam Houston State University and Texas Tech, before
settling at Western Kentucky University where he has been for
the last 12 years. Collins is the author or co-author of seven
school mathematics texts. He is married with three children --
all college graduates -- from Ohio Sate, USC, Arizona, North Carolina,
North Carolina State, and Northwestern.
Position
Statement: "I have been aware of the Text and Academic Authors
Association since its inception. As a managing editor at an educational
publisher, I always suggested to the authors that I hired to join
TAA. I always fought for author's rights and tried to deal fairly
with authors, but I wanted these authors to have a backup in case
I was no longer in a position to help them or my superiors overruled
me. When I became a university professor and an author, I joined
TAA. Three years ago, I ran for TAA Council and won the election.
I felt that since I had seen both the publishing and authorship
sides of textbook publishing, I could make a unique contribution.
I still feel that way. The last three years on the Council have
been a learning experience for me. I feel that this experience
will only help me in better serving you and TAA. TAA is growing
and our new director and others have some exciting ideas. If elected
I pledge to do my utmost toward the continued growth and status
of TAA."
Paul Siegel
is director of the School of Communication at the University of
Hartford. His life as a textbook author is a relatively recent
one, in that the first editions of his Communications Law in America,
and the comparison volume, Cases in Communication Law, carried
2002 copyright dates. He served on the TAA Council previously,
but dropped off, he said, out of fear that he would feel like
a mere "fellow traveler" until his next editions were under contract:
"They are, and I'm back -- if you'll have me."
Position
Statement: "I wish I had great wisdom to impart, but I don't.
I became enamored of TAA -- both in concept and reality -- while
my first editions were in press. I attended my first TAA Convention
in New Orleans and made the mistake of opening my big mouth too
much, such that I was put in charge of planning the next year's
convention in San Antonio. From that (actually quite delightful)
experience, and from my previous stint on the TAA Council, I have
developed an understanding of some of the organization's challenges,
and I look forward to the chance to help the association meet
those challenges."
Mary Kay
Switzer has been an active member of TAA as a Council member
and Council secretary. She has worked to enable the presentation
of TAA workshops at various institutions of higher learning, and
chaired the TAA Convention in 1997. She helped develop the TAA
Foundation by chairing the Grant Committee. She has also been
a judge for the association's Texty and McGuffey Awards and its
Research Awards. As an educator for several years, she has developed
textbooks for use in higher education. Several of her research
articles have been presented and published in various academic
journals. She received many awards for her books and articles.
In addition, she has produced, directed, and written many ETV
programs and series as executive producer for Educational Video
Projects. She has also been principal investigator, writer and
director for various educational grants to benefit teaching and
learning. She serves as the vice president of the Matrix Foundation
Board, which is associated with journalism accreditation through
affiliation with AEJMC. Recently, she was appointed director of
the Edith Wortman Endowment Fund, which underwrites various educational
projects.
Position Statement:
"I would like to serve TAA as a Council member. Through the years,
I have been an active member of TAA. I support TAA's mission and
want to continue to develop innovative ways to promote the welfare
of TAA members and the constituents it serves." |
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TAA Members Give
Gift Memberships
TAA member Jay Pasachoff
and TAA Executive Director Richard Hull each gave a gift membership
to TAA in January. Pasachoff gave a gift membership to Magnus Bernhardsson.
Hull gave a gift membership to Robert Ginsberg. Consider giving a gift
membership to someone you think would benefit from TAA by filling out
the gift membership portion on your member renewal form or by calling
Janet Tucker, office manager at (727) 563-0020 or TEXT@tampabay.rr.com
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TAA Members Make
Gift Above Dues
TAA thanks members
Fred Kleiner and John M. Ivancevich for making contributions to TAA
above their normal membership dues.
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Authors Asking:
How to Convert a Non-Fiction Book into a Textbook
Ron Pynn, TAA past-executive
director and TAA Council secretary, responded to an author's e-mail
inquiry about how to go about converting her non-fiction book into a
textbook. Pynn advised her to start by finding out whether or not the
publisher has the rights to the present book. Pynn's full answer has
been posted to the Authors Asking section in the Members-Only section.
Click here.
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TAA Council Member
Jim Prekeges' Wife Dies
TAA Council member
Jim Prekeges lost his wife Marilyn on February 13, 2006. She was 74.
"She was coming with me for the January [TAA Council] meeting; she fainted
at the airport, was taken to the hospital and diagnosed with a bleeding
right kidney," explained Prekeges. "It eventually took her life." Marilyn
Gertrude Daugherty Prekeges was born April 19, 1931, in Williston, North
Dakota, and moved to Spokane, Washington, in 1945. She graduated from
North Central High School in 1949 and earned a BA in Education from
Eastern Washington University in 1953. Her parents, Inez Staffanson
and Fred Allen Daugherty, as well as her brother, James Daugherty, preceded
her in death. Marilyn is survived by her husband of 52 years, Demitrios
P. "Jim" Prekeges; their four sons and daughters-in-law, Peter (Jennifer),
of Shoreline, Washington, David (Lora), of Rocklin, California, Donald
(Karen), of Sammamish, Washington, and Paul (Sandy,) of Redmond, Washington;
nine grandchildren, Caitlin, Justin, Connor, Krysta, Gregory, Alexandra,
Adam, Stephanie, and Alison; sister-in-law, Sue Daugherty, of Knoxville,
Tennessee; nephew, Shannon Daugherty, of Albuquerque, New Mexico; and
niece, Kelly Wellman, of Las Vegas, Nevada. Extended family includes
Mary Harper, of Spokane, Bob and Patt Hooker, of Mead, and John and
Myrna Weber, of Spokane. Marilyn is a member of P.E.O Chaper I in Arlington,
and a member of Martha Chapter #60, Order of the Eastern Star, Cheney,
Washington. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Evergreen Hospice
House, 12822 124th Lane N.E., Kirkland, WA 98034.
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TAAF Looking
for Potential Board Members
The Text and Academic
Authors Foundation is seeking board members to fill out its board of
directors, which is allowed a maximum of 11 members. The board currently
has five members: Katherine Henry, an assistant professor of English
at Temple University; Pat McKeague, a full time writer and a part time
instructor at Cuesta College who has published twelve mathematics textbooks;
Michael Lennie, an authoring attorney and literary agent with Lennie
Literary & Authors' Attorneys; Steve Gillen, an authoring attorney with
Greenbaum Doll & McDonald PLLC; and Michael Sullivan, a math author
and past-president of TAA. If you're interested in serving on the TAAF
board, contact TAAF Board Chair Michael Lennie at mlennie@lennieliterary.com.
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TAAF Appoints
New Treasurer
Michael Sullivan,
a math author and past president of TAA, was appointed treasurer of
the Text and Academic Authors Foundation (TAAF). Sullivan replaces Robert
Christopherson, who resigned from the board due to professional conflicts.
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Renew Your Membership
Online!
TAA has just launched
a new online member form that will allow members to renew online using
a secure server. The form can also be used by new members. Check it
out in the TAA Member Center here.
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