John Dupuis has a terrific new post at Confessions of a Science Librarian:
Reading Diary: Open Access: What You Need to Know Now by Walt Crawford
Tempted as I am to quote the whole thing, I won’t–after all, you really should click on the link above and read it on Dupuis’ blog.
I will quote part of it (oh, c’mon, you thought I could resist?):
Virtually every page had ah “Aha!” moment for me, a moment of recognition, of joy to see a point well made, a starting point for further reflection, a provocation, a point to remember next time I’m talking to faculty.
There were also some quibbles about this or that, maybe the order things could have been presented or minor things like that. But really, nothing substantial or anything that would affect the validity of the argument that Crawford makes.
Because, yes, this book is essentially an argument. The argument being that libraries and librarians should be at the forefront of promoting Open Access in the scholarly community and beyond. And, thanks to Crawford, we have the arguments for, “Here’s why!” gathered together in a convenient librarian-friendly package.
Crawford’s done the library world a huge service with this book and we are all in his debt.
So, how would I recommend this book. First of all, every single academic library should have this book in their collection. It will be a valuable primer for librarians for years to come, a great resources to get up to speed. Other libraries that support scholarship and research should also have a copy. Large public library systems could also use a copy.
He goes on to say “there is probably not a lot of reason for most librarians to buy a copy for themselves although I’m sure that many who see themselves as strongly tied to the movement might want a copy” and I honestly don’t see every librarian buying one (although I’d like to think hundreds or thousands would find it worthwhile).
Anyway, go read the review. Then, for you or your library (or both), go buy the book: Open Access: What You Need to Know Now
