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Subject:Availability of STC Publications From:"George F. Hayhoe" <george -at- GHAYHOE -dot- COM> Date:Wed, 21 Jan 1998 12:20:29 -0500
Bill Sullivan asked:
<<. . . why do I get the impression that Intercom articles, Journal of TC
articles, and chapter newsletter articles cannot be copied or otherwise
passed around? Why can't the STC put these things up on the Internet where
people who are interested can download them and benefit from them?>>
He then goes on to call the prices for STC publications "outrageous."
Well, Bill, as editor of STC's journal, I get several requests each month
about reprinting articles from _Technical communication_. I pass these
inquiries on to the STC office, which manages reprint requests. The
Society's policy is to disseminate our publications as widely as possible,
and such requests are usually approved. We're also working to develop an
online version of the journal that I hope will be implemented later this
year.
At the same time, STC (like any other publisher) has a proprietary interest
in the information it has published and on which it holds the copyright.
Publishing is an expensive business, and no publisher can afford to give
away its publications (either print or online) if it wants to stay in
business. Since our journal, Annual Conference proceedings, and other
publications are paid for by membership dues and conference fees, we must
charge a reasonable fee to recoup those costs from those who want access to
the information but who are not members or do not attend the conferences.
We may, of course, differ on the question of what is a reasonable fee. Most
of the professional books (both print and online) I've purchased from other
sources in the last year have cost between US$40 and US$100. The US$15 STC
charges nonmembers for a copy of the journal and the $60 it charges those
who do not attend for a copy of the annual conference proceedings are
certainly in line with those prices.
