From: Joseph Esposito <[log in to unmask]> Date: Thu, 22 May 2014 20:04:29 -0400 Without for a minute wanting to appear to be supportive of the Authors Guild, the piece by Stiles on the AG site does indeed capture the essential quality of the Authors Alliance. As a friend once said to me, you can't be too cynical these days. Joe Esposito On Thu, May 22, 2014 at 7:41 PM, LIBLICENSE <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > > From: Laura Quilter <[log in to unmask]> > Date: Thu, 22 May 2014 00:56:28 -0400 > > Yes, the Authors Guild has made it abundantly clear that its doesn't > consider the actual interests and perspectives of academic authors as > relevant to its organization. But, since we are all copyright holders > now, with our scholarly papers under the same copyright regime as > someone else's bestselling novel, it seems obvious that the voices of > the many different kinds of "authors" should be equally heard. The > Authors Guild took it upon themselves to (mis)represent scholarly > writers, with their litigations against digitizing mostly academic > works; this new organization comes directly from the significant > problems with the Authors Guild claiming to so represent such a broad > class. Personally I'm very pleased that academic authors will now > have an alternate voice that does speak to the interests of those the > Authors Guild so seriously misrepresented. > > Honestly, I'm somewhat bemused by the Guild's kneejerk hostility. I > would have imagined there would be areas of strong mutual interest -- > terminations and publication contracts, just to start. > > As to the Authors Alliance's engagement with scholarly presses, I > imagine that will be an item of great interest. There are quite a few > humanists on the advisory board (with quite a number of publications > under their respective belts), so it looks hopeful. > > Laura Markstein Quilter / [log in to unmask] > Attorney, Geek, Militant Librarian, Teacher > > Copyright and Information Policy Librarian > University of Massachusetts, Amherst > [log in to unmask] > > Lecturer, Simmons College, GSLIS > [log in to unmask] > > > > > On Wed, May 21, 2014 at 11:45 PM, LIBLICENSE <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > > > > From: Lesley Ellen Harris <[log in to unmask]> > > Date: Wed, 21 May 2014 08:32:08 -0400 > > > > Apologies if this was already mention in the discussions…The Authors > > Guild is working hard to make it clear what the role of this new group > > called the Authors Alliance is…and what exactly The Authors Guild > > is…explanation at > > http://www.authorsguild.org/general/what-is-the-authors-alliance/. > > > > Lesley > > http://copyrightlaws.com > > > > > > On May 20, 2014, at 11:38 PM, LIBLICENSE <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > > > > From: Sandy Thatcher <[log in to unmask]> > > Date: Tue, 20 May 2014 00:08:03 -0500 > > > > Given that this new enterprise seems to be the brainchild of Pamela > > Samuelson, it seems to be aimed at mobilizing that group of authors > > who do not depend on publications for their living but have a strong > > interest, for career and other reasons, in maximizing free access to > > their writings. It was clear from the Authors Guild suit against > > Google that academics like Samuelson felt that the Guild did not > > represent the interests of nonprofessional writers like her and her > > academic colleagues, so now she wants an organization that will be > > able to lobby for those interests. > > > > My question to her and her colleagues is what they think should happen > > with scholarly publishing. Many of the people leading this new > > Alliance and on its advisory board have benefited from publishing > > books with university presses. Are they going to try bringing > > pressure on university administrators so that university presses are > > funded in such a way as to enable them to engage in OA publishing of > > monographs? Or do they simply want to weaken copyright protections on > > which university presses actually depend to conduct their business > > now, since universities generally require their presses to recover > > most of their costs from sales in the marketplace? > > > > I can see this Alliance as potentially helping scholarly publishing > > move in a direction that will free it of the necessity to rely on > > copyright protections, but if the Alliance is not careful, it could > > end up killing the goose before it has a chance to lay the golden egg. > > > > Sandy Thatcher > > > > > > > > > From: Ann Shumelda Okerson <[log in to unmask]> > > > Date: Mon, 19 May 2014 18:12:12 -0400 > > > > > > Of possible interest: https://authorsalliance.org/intro.html > > > > > > "The mission of Authors Alliance is to further the public interest in > > > facilitating widespread access to works of authorship by helping > > > authors navigate the opportunities and challenges of the digital age. > > > We provide information and tools designed to help authors better > > > understand and manage key legal, technological, and institutional > > > aspects essential to a knowledge economy of abundance. We are also a > > > voice for authors in discussions about public and institutional > > > policies that might promote or inhibit broad dissemination. > > > > > > "If you are interested in our mission, please join us at our launch, > > > 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday May 21st at the Internet Archive in San > > > Francisco. For more details and to RSVP please visit: > > > > > > authorsalliance.eventbrite.com