From: "Macklin, Lisa" <[log in to unmask]> Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2017 02:00:12 +0000 I won’t presume to answer for Kevin, and I have nothing but anecdotal evidence on which to base a response. However, I think it is possible (likely?) that researchers with authorized access to subscription articles find it easier to access those same articles on SciHub. In academia, we require log ins and credentials to let the authorized users in and keep everyone else out. That reality makes it harder to make persistent links, use bookmarks effectively, and take full advantage of other tools. As a programmer friend of mine used to say, a keystroke saved is a keystroke earned. If accessing SciHub saves a few keystrokes, and reduces barriers to access, that is an attractive feature for many researchers. To be clear, I’m not criticizing libraries for putting these authentication methods in place or making moral judgements about researchers using SciHub. I also have no solution to the inefficiency of authentication, except to eliminate the need for it by making scholarship openly accessible. That is easier said than done, as everyone on this list is fully aware. :-) Cheers, Lisa Lisa A. Macklin, JD, MLS Director, Scholarly Communications Office Library and Information Technology Services Emory University Atlanta, GA 30322 404.727.1535 [log in to unmask] On 5/31/17, 8:07 PM, "LibLicense-L Discussion Forum on behalf of LIBLICENSE" <[log in to unmask] on behalf of [log in to unmask]> wrote: From: Anthony Watkinson <[log in to unmask]> Date: Wed, 31 May 2017 10:37:28 +0100 I was waiting for Kevin to say something like this. He would be failing in his duty if he did not do so. The interesting thing about SciHub is that someone has shown that many of the users have access to the articles they go to SciHib for. Why is this? I would be interested in his views. I would guess that more researchers have access to Elsevier toll access articles than to the articles of any other publisher who uses the subscription model. They certainly have more big deals and more penetration that way than any other publisher. Anthony -----Original Message----- From: "Smith, Kevin L" <[log in to unmask]> Date: Tue, 30 May 2017 13:04:33 +0000 It is a rather curious article, beginning with the very intimidating language quoted, but going on to note that the founder of Sci-Hub expects to continue to defy the U.S. court. There is probably very little that Elsevier can do to enforce a judgment it obtains, so any award is likely to have only symbolic value. Even the symbolism seems likely to have only limited impact, since the grandiose language of righteous indignation in Elsevier's motion is so common to them. They say things like "staggering" and "egregious" in every press release they issue about alleged infringement and even about public access proposals. They cry wolf so often, in short, that even when that language might be justified it is just too easy to dismiss. And, of course, there is the point made at the end of the article that Elsevier has likely brought more attention to Sci-Hub than would have been possible if they had simply ignored it. I am sure the decision-makers at Elsevier thought this would be their "Napster moment," but the truth is that they pretty much made Sci-Hub what it is, and now they are finding that they cannot put the genie back in the bottle. Kevin L. Smith, J.D. Dean of Libraries University of Kansas -----Original Message----- From: Ann Shumelda Okerson <[log in to unmask]> Date: Sun, 28 May 2017 09:24:47 -0400 Article we missed last week: "'Pirate' sites Sci-Hub and LibGen face millions of dollars in damages in a lawsuit filed by Elsevier, one of the largest academic publishers. Elsevier has requested a default judgment of $15 million against the defendants for their "truly egregious conduct" and "staggering" infringement." https://torrentfreak.com/elsevier-wants-15-million-piracy-damages-from-sci-hub-and-libgen-170518/?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTWpOak1tWXhaRGhtTmpBNSIsInQiOiI3QzdyUW5nUlB0UzYrcTBQYzNMN2pKXC9pR3Vrc250VzRGaks4bHh6QWphZTV1STYybUE2Zm5DU0VOVnRMQktwZWNpb3RpamwyS1lRWnAzQVZ4cStHZnBwcWplK1lZRncxc2t2SWtCV3BDODNCVnE2RmhnNzd5SGk3aUF0TDhkY0UifQ%3D%3D