From: Joseph Esposito <[log in to unmask]> Date: Fri, 17 Jul 2015 09:23:39 -0400 Of course mission affects economics. Who ever said otherwise? I wrote about that before: http://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2015/06/16/the-mixed-marriage-of-for-profit-and-not-for-profit-publishing/ Joe Esposito On Thu, Jul 16, 2015 at 10:48 PM, LIBLICENSE <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > From: Sandy Thatcher <[log in to unmask]> > Date: Wed, 15 Jul 2015 22:59:51 -0500 > > But I think you underestimate, Joe, how much the mission affects the > economics. Presses often make decisions about pricing, making books > available in paperback, etc. that are not necessarily driven by the > need to maximize income but rather to serve other interests, such as > maximizing the distribution of copies at as cheap a price as possible, > subject only to the constraint that the press needs to earn enough to > stay in business. And when presses and libraries cooperate in ventures > like Project Muse, those ventures reflect the values and missions of > both parties. > > Sandy Thatcher > > > > From: Joseph Esposito <[log in to unmask]> > > Date: Tue, 14 Jul 2015 22:07:07 -0400 > > > > Sandy, > > > > I think this perspective obscures the nature of the relationship. > > Publishers are vendors, libraries customers. Of course they share > > some overarching values: representative democracy, the rule of law, > > respect for others' religion, etc. But that level of abstraction > > doesn't reach to the details of how publishers and libraries actually > > operate--and that is in their impersonal economic dimension. This is > > neither good nor bad; it just is. And economic relationships need not > > be characterized by greed or guile (what I would call poor branding). > > But in the end it is the economic relationships that define us. > > > > And as to Richard's comment that we built this system, well, no. > > Isn't that the point of the principle of the Invisible Hand, that it > > is independent of ourselves? > > > > I think people would be better at their jobs, feel less frustrated, > > and probably be more at peace with themselves if they understood that > > an economic relationship is an economic relationship. Plenty of room > > in our lives for other things, but publishers sell and libraries buy. > > > > Joe Esposito > > > > > > On Tue, Jul 14, 2015 at 8:31 PM, LIBLICENSE <[log in to unmask]> > wrote: > >> > >> > >> From: Sandy Thatcher <[log in to unmask]> > >> Date: Mon, 13 Jul 2015 23:09:53 -0500 > >> > >> One would hope that at least one kind of publisher, the university > >> press, shares the overarching values and priorities of academic > >> librarians and scholars. There are prominent examples of them working > >> together in enterprises like Project Muse, and in some instances the > >> library and press are in the same administrative unit, and faculty are > >> involved with all presses as members of their editorial boards. These > >> relationships do not mean that there cannot be disagreements, such as > >> over copyright, but when push comes to shove, university presses have > >> more in common with the people on their own campuses than they do with > >> commercial publishers whose priorities ultimately are driven by the > >> need to make profits. > >> > >> Sandy Thatcher >