From: Henrietta Thornton <[log in to unmask]> Date: Wed, 14 Dec 2011 10:19:10 -0500 'Others just cite the "refereeing is free labor for large publishing corporations" argument, as if that makes it alright' -- I'd like some more from him on what's wrong with that argument. Etta Thornton-Verma Associate Editor, Reference at Library Journal and School Library Journal 160 Varick St., 11th Floor New York, NY 10013 Email: [log in to unmask] Phone: (646) 380-0748 On Twitter: @ettathornton -----Original Message----- From: LibLicense-L Discussion Forum Sent: Tuesday, December 13, 2011 9:58 PM Subject: crisis in peer-reviewing? From: "James J. O'Donnell" <[log in to unmask]> Date: Tue, 13 Dec 2011 07:57:39 -0500 CHE today has a piece on the decline of willingness of scholars to participate in peer review: http://chronicle.com/blogs/worldwise/refereeing-in-crisis/28943 -- it appears to be accessible without subscription (sample below). The author writes from his own experience, not any broader base of data. Are there other ways of confirming/nuancing this concern? Jim O'Donnell Georgetown University Refereeing in Crisis? December 12, 2011, 3:31 pm By Nigel Thrift One of the things that often shocks new journal editors is the difficulty that they face in obtaining referees for papers. It is often necessary to approach a string of referees in order to obtain the requisite number of references. Most annoyingly of all, sometimes a person who has just submitted a paper to a journal then refuses to referee for it or has the nerve to complain about delays to the reviewing process occasioned precisely by the search for referees. And that is before we get to the people who are approached who never even deign to reply. More seriously, at least from my experience of editing a journal, the problem is getting worse. <snip>