Open Access

Last night, I finished my first 1500 word book review comparing and contrasting three books for my Understanding Information class. It's time to begin reading the four books for the next review. The time is going by so quickly.

I had tried to read The Access Principle (by John Willinsky) online as recommended. No way. It was too hard on my eyes, and I kept losing my place. I need to play around with the features and see if I can get used to this. I quickly ordered a copy through Baker & Taylor at work (for $31.46 - There's only a 10% discount for university presses). I did use the online version for one thing; it was great for finding certain terms when I wanted to refer to them while writing.

A number of reviewers commented on the fact that Willinksy's book on open access costs over $30.00. That didn't bother me as much as finding out that my access was denied to some of the reviews! However, Willinsky is very fair in his assessment of the current state of affairs. He lists the "ten flavors of open access" in the appendix to the book. He reminds us that open access does not necessarily mean "free access."