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| Jack Meadows
Photo provided by Dr Ramaiah
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But
what is distinctive about the OA debate is that it has produced not a simple
juxtaposition of those who support the old and those who support the new. It is
more complex than that.
On one
side of the OA rift, of course, are the traditional subscription publishers.
They are determined to protect their business interests, and fearful that OA might
threaten the high levels of profitability to which they have become accustomed.
On the
other side, however, is to be observed not a single movement (or even a single
OA organisation), but rather a disparate collection of factions — all of whom
want change, all of whom are passionate in their advocacy for OA, but most of
whom end up constantly disagreeing with one another — about objectives, about
strategy, and even about definitions.
In
fact, the more passionate OA advocates tend to disagree with one another even
more violently than they do with their publisher opponents. And the resulting internecine
warfare has only intensified as publishers have begun reluctantly to provide OA
— because in doing so publishers are invariably providing it in ways, and at a
cost, that pleases some OA advocates while displeasing others.
The
debate is further complicated by the fact that much of the discussion about OA
tends to lack historical perspective. It is also frequently based on unfounded
claims and unfulfillable expectations, on all sides.
Potential quagmire
One
consequence of all this is that politicians and bureaucrats are frequently confused
when trying to work out what to do about OA. This can lead to badly-thought-through
and controversial policies, which appears
to be what happened with the Finch Report — now
official UK government policy — and the subsequent OA policy announced
by Research Council’s UK (RCUK)
last July. RCUK’s new policy was immediately attacked from all directions.
The
upshot is that OA must be viewed as a potential quagmire for universities, for
research funders and for politicians. The problem they face is that it is no
longer possible not to respond to the clamour for OA. Yet the wrong response can
end up making matters worse. It does not help that the abundance of advisers
and consultants willing to offer advice on OA invariably have their own agenda,
and often a vested interest in a particular outcome.
All in
all, one is left wondering if there is anyone in the world able to provide an
objective assessment of the current state of play of scholarly communication
and its likely future development, including OA’s role in that development.
But
perhaps there is someone. What about Jack
Meadows, Emeritus Professor of Library and Information Studies at
Loughborough University?
Before
retiring in 2001 Meadows was, at different times in his academic career, a
physicist, an astronomer, an information scientist, and a historian of science.
During that time he also ran a number of different academic departments, and
was both a Dean and a Pro-Vice Chancellor. In addition, he is a Fellow of the Institute of Physics, and Permanent
Vice-President of the Library
Association. And we could mention in passing that he has an asteroid named
after him too — asteroid
4600 Meadows to be precise.
Vitally,
Meadows has devoted a great deal of time during his life to thinking about and
researching the history of scholarly communication.
“Jack
Meadows’ contributions to the study of the history of science, and of scholarly
publishing trends are outstanding,” says Charles Oppenheim, who took over as
head of the Library
and Information Statistics Unit at Loughborough University when Meadows
retired. “He was involved in the very earliest experiments with ejournals, and
his book Communication in Science is
a model of how to write a well-researched but fascinating history. He also
edited The Origins of Information Science, which is also a model
history.”
In
total, Meadows has published some 250 articles and 24 books, including (as
noted by Oppenheim) Communication in Science and Communicating Research. And he
continues to research and write on such matters in retirement.
No particular dream to sell
Who
better then to offer an objective assessment of the revolution sweeping through
the world of scholarly communication, and to do so with an informed historical
perspective? Importantly, although he has observed the development of OA over
the years, Meadows is not an advocate for any specific form of OA. As such, he
has no particular dream to sell, and no horse in the OA race.
Moreover,
Meadows is no dry academic without any understanding of the beatings of the
human heart, or the need for moderation in the pursuit of one’s goals. And he
is able and willing to dispense sound advice. Meadows, says Oppenheim, is “a
very wise and supportive man who has time for everyone.”
Former
Loughborough student Chennupati Ramaiah — who now heads
up the Department
of Library and Information Science in Pondicherry
University, India — can testify to the soundness of Meadows’ advice.
“Professor
Meadows is a true human being, and an excellent teacher, researcher and
administrator. He is the only person who told me not to work too much, and advised me to go on holiday so that I
could recharge my batteries. This helped me work more effectively, and allowed
me to get my PhD degree in on time.”
Doubtless
a few overheated OA advocates could benefit from such wise counsel. And those
participating in some of the more fervid online exchanges about OA could surely
profit from a dose of Meadows’ humour. “He has a dry wit (his corny jokes are
famous),” explains Oppenheim. Readers will perhaps spot this trait in some of
the answers Meadows gives in the interview below.
One is
also inclined to suggest that some of the more confused politicians and funders
could do worse than give Meadows a call and ask for some advice.
But
let’s give Ramaiah the last word on Jack Meadows. “Professor Meadows thinks
deeply and explains simply”, he says, “Three people have had a lasting
influence on my life: My Guruji,
Bhagavan Sri Viswayogi Viswamjee Maharaj — who has assisted me in my spiritual
life — Dr APJ Abdul
Kalam, who has provided me with a role model in my daily life, and
Professor Meadows, who has been a true mentor for me in my research and
teaching activities.”
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If you wish to read the interview with Jack Meadows, please click on the link below.
I
am publishing the interview under a Creative Commons licence, so
you are free to copy and distribute it as you wish, so long as you
credit me as the author, do not alter or transform the text, and do
not use it for any commercial purpose.
To read the interview (as a PDF file) click HERE.
