In which the Loon is a little verklempt
Time was, the latest outrage on the part of toll-access publishers was greeted by staunch resistance from SPARC, backed by a few scattered librarians who amplified the signal as best they could. Faculty? The usual stable of Nobel-winner signatures, some of whose owners probably hadn’t the least clue what they were signing on to, and nearly all of whom walked away once they’d signed.
Not this time. Oh, opposition to the Research Works Act is hardly a groundswell, so the Loon cautions RWA opponents against complacency; there’s a good bit of consciousness-raising to do yet. But it’s not just the librarians this time. Blog posts from academia are multiplying like rabbits. The Loon’s just-created Twitter account is being noticed by academics, a few of whom have been asking to be brought up to speed on these issues. (One hundred forty characters is a severe limitation to the loquacious Loon, but she is doing her best nonetheless.) Open access is even being brought up at the two major humanities conferences currently taking place, which is just beyond incredible.
The Loon is so amazed and pleased by all this that she could almost cry mad red tears. Perhaps there’s hope!