APD conference 2009 Why pay for content
The Academic and Professional Division Open Debate 2009 was held at the Royal Institution in London on 24 June on the theme 'Why pay for content?'
Close on 150 delegates from publishing, academe, libraries, government agencies, learned societies and finance joined debaters to tackle the question in two sessions, the first on teaching and learning in HE and the second on research and reference. Under Chair David Worlock, Chief Research Fellow for Outsell UK, the sessions featured opposing debaters, each backed by a second, and then the issue was thrown open to the floor.
Those speaking in the first session were Dominic Knight, Managing Director for Palgrave Macmillan, Eric Frank, Founder and Chief Marketing Officer of Flat World Knowledge, Roger Horton, CEO for Taylor & Francis, and Liam Earmey, Collections Team Manager, JISC Collections.
The second session featured Nick Baker, Head of Global Medical Research, Elsevier Group, David Hoole, Head of Brand Marketing, Nature Publishing Group, Frances Pinter, Publisher, Bloomsbury Academic, David Prosser, Director, SPARC Europe, Professor Charles Oppenheim, Department of Information Science, Loughborough University, and Louise Edwards, Director, The European Library.
Did the debate ask the right question? The outbreak of consensus that content should indeed be paid for could suggest otherwise, but the afternoon showed how the current revolution in publishing has forced greater openness to a variety of sustainable models of content delivery.
Delegates asked rather who should pay for content and why, and at what point payment should be made. They urged more creative attempts at combinations of business models, clearer licence terms and more information on transition costs. They also wondered what the research environment that generates the content will look like in future - will it be virtual? Is the death of the immutable article imminent, and if so, what will replace it?
Whatever the model, the process will be hard-fought. APD hopes to return to the arena next year for another look at the fundamental changes facing the industry.