UC Berkeley Faculty Endorse "Statement of Principles" on Scholarly Publishing

From the May 4, 2005 press release:

The Berkeley Division of the Academic Senate endorsed a statement of principles designed to open research findings to a broader public. Acknowledging the need to reshape and regain control of scholarly publishing, the faculty acted after determining that the subscription price of a single journal may be higher that the price of an automobile and that researchers here and globally are being priced out of the discoveries in many fields.

In the statement Berkeley faculty resolve to retain control of their scholarly output by retaining intellectual property rights and submitting their work with publishers who maintain reasonable business practices. The Academic Senate statement not only encourages Berkeley scholars to publish or serve as editors in alternative outlets but pledges to provide tools and incentives for them to change their behavior.

At a March 31 faculty conference on scholarly publishing sponsored by the Berkeley Academic Senate and the Office of the Chancellor <www.lib.berkeley.edu/scholarlypublishing/ archived webcast not online as of May 7th>, Alice Agogino, Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Vice Chair of the Berkeley Division of the Academic Senate, called on her colleagues to take immediate action.  "[We must] support new forms of scholarly communication, working with faculty and making strategic investments in approaches that are sustainable and reduce costs to the university in the long run."