This is the sixth post in a seven-part series in which we will share some of the results of our survey for scholars with you.
In the final section of our recent Faculty Survey, we raised the issue of sustainability for the LCRM project’s proposed online publishing innovations, such as a bibliography, an online collection of LCRM-related content, and an online coursepack service and the importance of establishing effective business models. The scholars were asked whether they agreed or disagreed with several statements about ways the business model could be shaped. While there was no strong agreement on any of the specific issues, most respondent expressed a desire to see the project sustain itself in the long term while remaining “affordable,” which one scholar defined as a packet of online materials costing “the same amount as a published monograph.”
Here are a few things that our respondents said about a business model for the LCRM project:
- “Cost is increasingly an issue for students and I would be concerned that this service may be more expensive than buying used books and accessing journal articles for free online (when the school subscribes to the journal).”
- “Identifying the right business model is clearly the most important aspect to make this project sustainable.”
We’d love to hear any additional thoughts you might have for a business model for the online publishing innovations that may develop out of the LCRM project.
The LCRM staff would again like to express our gratitude to everyone who took the time to participate in the survey. You’ve clearly given us some food for thought. If you still want to participate in the LCRM project we invite you to add to the discussion on a specific topic by adding a comment to this and our other posts about the survey.
Survey Methodology and Disclaimer: We used the Odum Institute software to host our survey and help us analyze results. We are not statisticians and do not claim that our survey or the reports on results are scientific, although they may be indicative of trends. We welcome comments or questions about the results.
Check back soon for part 7 of our survey results!
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