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Policy

'The Google Model'

December 17, 2007 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 85, Issue 51

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In his editorial, Rudy Baum makes the point that the Google Model is "inherently parasitic" and that information doesn't want to be free, it is "cheapskates" who want information to be free (C&EN, Nov. 5, page 3). This is true. Now, let me turn this around.

ACS has many publications. It goes to great pains to explain why it has to charge for these publications and why it can't just put this information on the Internet for free. Most of the explanations consist of statements that say it costs money for the society to do this, and that the society needs this income to exist.

I propose, however, that this is parasitic. The chemists who submit these articles are not paid for them; indeed, they sometimes have to pay for additional pictures and other costs. What the chemists who submit these articles really want is free access to their articles by the largest number of people. The parasite in this case is ACS: It wants free access to this information and total control over how it is disseminated.

The administration of ACS uses these funds to pay for its existence, yet the chemists have to donate their editing services. All the content of the articles is paid for by others. A society as great as ACS should not finance its existence on the backs of the chemists who are its members by restricting their access to chemical information. As society members, we could easily publish peer-reviewed online journals for very little cost. We already volunteer our efforts to this task. The society should make its money from meetings and dues and cut down on its administrative costs. This of course gets at the heart of what this society is all about.

Ted Reid
Lubbock, Texas

Baum completely fails to understand the value of open information when he discusses the phrase, "Information wants to be free." He declares that those who desire open information are merely "cheapskates." He argues that those who distribute free news created by others are "parasitic," making profits from work done by the real information producers, presumably journalists.

The scientific endeavor depends on scientists generating world-changing information then giving it away to publishers to disseminate. A journal publisher is not working in the lab for 70 hours a week generating percent yields, yet the scientist readily hands over hard-earned information for publication. The peer reviewer spends many hours advising the journal without any expectation of reward. The reason is simple: The scientific community understands the value of sharing information as widely as possible.

Baum may not want to admit it, but the chemical information world—including C&EN—is undergoing a complete transformation. There is a breakdown in the traditional publication model, where publishers charge users increasingly large sums to read user-generated content. Sites such as Wikipedia are demonstrating revolutionary new ways to disseminate information that is written by volunteers and given freely to the world.

Through the Internet, we finally have the opportunity to make chemical information available to all.

I don't know exactly how this will be done, but I'm sure it won't involve static files hidden behind subscription walls. I understand that ACS needs income to pay for the invaluable work it does, and it needs to provide extra benefits for its members. Chemical Abstracts Service and ACS Publications clearly provide excellent services, and no one wants to see those disappear. Yet, if ACS fails to adapt to the world of mash-ups and Web 2.0, it may find itself becoming obsolete. The reality is that chemists—not just cheapskates—increasingly use the Internet to find chemical information in open-access sites and free databases; if information is not open and available for harvesting, it may not be found.

ACS should return to its core mission—to help the chemistry community and the public—and find ways to open up its vast resources of information. Rather than charging for raw information, perhaps ACS could learn a lesson from Google and earn its revenue only from "adding value" to information. Information given freely by scientists should be free.

Martin A. Walker
Potsdam, N.Y.

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