The Humanities and Open-Access Publishing: A New Paradigm of Value?

Abstract

Rick McGeer opens his chapter in this part of the book by declaring that digitisati on ‘represents the fourth great revolution in human communication, following the invention of language, the invention of writing, and the invention of the printing press’. In the spirit of a book that aspires to be agenda-setting for the arts and humanities within and outside of the academy, it seems fitting to close the collection of essays with reflections that contribute valuable insights to the lively discussion that is currently animating the international academic community. Although neither McGeer nor Olson makes this the direct and explicit object of his analysis, their chapters inevitably speak to the ongoing debates around the effects of digital technologies on both research — on which this present discussion will focus — and on teaching, as evidenced by the global interest in the potential offered by mass online open courses, or MOOCs, to democratise access to higher education. Central to reflections on the nature and potential of ‘digital scholarship’ is agreement around the importance of ensuring that as much as possible of the research produced within universities should be freely available digitally, especially when that research has been funded by public agencies. By way of an introduction to the discussion of the ethical and intellectual implications of digitisation for the arts and humanities that will follow, this chapter will present a contextual discussion and reflection on recent policy changes in relation to open-access scholarly publishing, mostly in the United Kingdom, but with a comparative glance at the United States’ experience.