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E V E G R A Y

E V E G R A Y. & A S S O C I A T E S C C. S t r a t e g I c P u b l I s h I n g S o l u t I o n s. ACCESS TO LEARNING MATERIALS. Open Access – a way of growing local content?. The great divide.

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E V E G R A Y

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  1. E V E G R A Y & A S S O C I A T E S C C S t r a t e g I c P u b l I s h I n g S o l u t I o n s

  2. ACCESS TO LEARNING MATERIALS Open Access – a way of growing local content?

  3. The great divide • The distribution of books and the dissemination of online content are heavily skewed towards the North, with African countries playing the role of consumers of content rather than disseminators. • Africa consumes around 12% of the world’s books It produces only 2%. • While ICT use in developed countries may not identify content as critical, it cannot be ignored in our context. The African continent generates only 0.4% of global online content, and if South Africa's contribution is then excluded, the figure drops to a mere 0.02%

  4. African knowledge for Africa • In South Africa, school textbooks are locally produced, but other markets are dominated by imported products. • The problem is not just access to knowledge and learning materials, but access to a substantial enough bank of locally relevant and affordable materials • The real challenge is to grow our own voice and achieve affordability and accessibility with local products

  5. Open Access • A response to the very high prices of some commercially published scientific journals • Open Access turns the commercial model on its head - the final product is given away free of charge; investment comes at the beginning of the production cycle – from the ‘author’ or institution generating the product • The idea of Open Access publishing models is very attractive in our context, as it is founded on an ethos of shared, participative development

  6. Free content ‘Free culture’ – not ‘free’ as in ‘free beer’ – but ‘free’; as in ‘free speech’, ‘free markets’, ‘free trade’, ‘free enterprise’, ‘free will’ and ‘free elections’. A free culture supports and protects creators and innovators. It does this directly by granting intellectual property rights. But it does so indirectly by limiting the reach of those rights to guarantee that follow-on creators and innovators remain as free as possible from the control of the past. A free culture is not a culture without property, just as a free market is not a market in which everything is free. The opposite of a free culture is a ‘permission culture’ - a culture in which creators get to create only with the permission of the powerful, or of creators from the past Lawrence Lessig

  7. Problems • Sustainability – how can a revenue stream be maintained for the continuing supply of Open Access materials? • Free dissemination is dependent on digital media – for most of our markets, content would need to be printed. • Not suitable for all products – it is for specialist low-volume content, unless there is heavy ongoing subsidy. • Self-publishing is an option with new technologies, but publishing skills are still needed. • Products don’t sell themselves – marketing and distribution are needed.

  8. A case study – HSRC publishing • A new publishing department in 2002 • All content available online free of charge • Books printed by print on demand at cost recovery price • Content can be used for non-commercial purposes, like course packs • A range of products – research information, books, accessible handbooks, discussion papers, newsletters, etc

  9. Publishing structure • The HSRC accepts that paying for publication of its research benefits the organization and the country - publishing is subsidized • A professional publishing department with high-level skills • Printing, sales and distribution outsourced

  10. The results • Hugely expanded publishing output • Research information and findings available in real time for a wide range of readers • Online Open Access has led to higher sales of printed books • Publications profile the HSRC and attract contracts and donors – a virtuous cycle • International reach

  11. A broader objective • Universities, research bodies, research NGOs produce a large amount of knowledge, but do not always disseminate it widely • Need to accept that investing in research dissemination is a valuable exercise • Dissemination could be of research data or published findings, or of educational material • The acquisition of publishing skills and the creation of publishing capacity would be needed

  12. The outcome • Enormously expanded access to knowledge and information • A wealth of content for learning delivery • A much higher profile for South African universities and technikons • Greater dynamic weight for South African knowledge in the global knowledge economy

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