Indiana University Libraries Support Open Access Model  

“We want to help find solutions,” librarians say 

 
Librarians at Indiana University are rallying their colleagues nationwide to support a groundbreaking philosophy encyclopedia that is challenging traditional models of online access.

By forming a sponsoring organization that will enable other libraries to contribute to the long-term survival of the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, the IU Libraries have roundly endorsed a new model of digital publishing.

“This is a well-conceived and innovative publishing model that makes good sense to support,” says Cecile Jagodzinski, director of collection development and digital scholarship at the IU Libraries. “As we struggle with increasing publishing costs, librarians have been feeling pinched for years. We want solutions. We’re pleased to join this project and do what we can to make this a success.”

The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy International Association (SEPIA)—the  membership organization sponsored by the IU Libraries and operated by the Southeastern Library Network (SOLINET)—will collect library contributions in the form of membership dues. The dues will support free and open access to one of the most widely used online philosophy reference works.

The goal is to create a permanent endowment that will generate income to cover the annual costs of administering and supporting volunteer efforts. Already more than 1,000 professional philosophers donate their time and labor to write, referee, and maintain the encyclopedia collaboratively.

The model upends traditional publishing practices, in which academic libraries pay publishers sometimes hefty fees for access to the scholarship of their own university’s faculty. Unlike journals to which libraries subscribe, the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy is both peer-reviewed and free to anyone with an Internet connection.

The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy was created in 1995 at Stanford University. Since 2003, the International Coalition of Library Consortia (ICOLC) and the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) have helped to develop the long-range funding plan.

Built with eight years of funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Science Foundation, the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy is the premier portal to philosophy on the World Wide Web.  The National Endowment for the Humanities recently awarded SOLINET a challenge grant which makes membership dues collected through SEPIA eligible for up to $500,000 in matching funds.