From: Rick Anderson <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Fri, 8 Jun 2012 02:22:48 +0000

>These journals make the content
>available ether through their own websites, through others (such as
>PubMedCentral), or both.  Some of them have been doing so since well
>before the Beckett and Inger study so we potentially have six years of
>data to test the hypothesis that a six-month embargo could lead to
>subscription losses in the order of 44%.

<snip>

>As far as I know, there is no evidence to suggest that six months
>embargoes have led to 44% reductions in subscriptions as predicted by
>this latest survey.  The journals that make their content available
>after six months appear to be thriving and are sustainable.  If I have
>missed the evidence please let me know.

David makes a very good point and implicitly asks an excellent question
here. As a follow-up to the ALPSP study, it would be great to see a
comprehensive (or responsibly sampled) list of journals that:

a) started out as toll-access journals;
b) changed to OA journals with a six-month embargo;
c) have since experienced cancellations, or
d) have not experienced any cancellations

Has anyone actually gathered this data, and if not, is it available
somewhere for gathering? As someone who is neither an OA evangelist nor an
opponent and who has no vested interest in the results, I'd be happy to
collaborate with someone on putting it together and creating a report.

---
Rick Anderson
Acting Dean, J. Willard Marriott Library
University of Utah
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