Mark and other TSA members,
In looking at the agenda for the next TSA meeting, I'm sending this comment for you to consider since I won't be able to attend. If you decide to allow free access to The Texas Caver one year after publication, consider posting it on or linking it to the Karst Information Portal (www.karstportal.org <http://www.karstportal.org/> ) as well as posting it on the TSA website. The Portal is a project conducted by the National Cave and Karst Research Institute, University of South Florida, International Union of Speleology, and the University of New Mexico. Its purpose is to make cave and karst information (excluding sensitive information like locations) freely available to anyone in the world. It is essentially a virtual cave and karst library. By going to the Resources tab, you can freely access many publications. Thousands of books, articles, and related information are already posted. Most of the information is on cave and karst science, but other information on management, exploration, descriptions of caves, etc. is rapidly growing. Most material that is on the Portal is digitally searchable (and that which isn't is being converted) so that if you can't remember which issue of The Texas Caver had the article on Punkin Cave that you wanted to read, you could go to the Portal, search for "Punkin," and you would find not just the references but the articles on Punkin (currently "Punkin" yields no hits on the Portal). Beyond being a virtual library, the Portal is designed to serve as a virtual workspace and research tool. For example, one tool that will likely be posted next year is on cave minerals. Not only will you be able to learn all the details you want about cave minerals, but you can send in updates, new information, and work with people in several ways not easily possible prior to the Portal. Research has shown that posting material for free on the Internet has the counterintuitive effect of either not hurting sales or increasing sales of the hardcopies. Apparently the virtual copy lets people see a publication they otherwise would not see, and many decide they want the hard copy. This has not been tested with a caver audience, but considering our relatively low numbers the difference in sales from digital posting will more easily be hidden in the margin of error of the normal sales fluctuations. The Portal, although only up for 2.5 years, is going through an overhaul. Most of the work is behind the scenes to improve efficiency and take advantage of new technologies. However, the look of the Portal will be changing next year, based on data collected on how the Portal is used, and will make it easier for people to find and do what they need. Additionally, we're working to find more funds to accelerate the rate of data collection and indexing so that everything posted will be digitally searchable. For example, information on Punkin Cave is posted on the Portal within the Proceedings of the 15th International Congress of Speleology, but those 2,230 pages have not yet been digitally indexed which is why Punkin doesn't show up yet in digital searches. Overall, it's a good thing that the Portal is getting more contributions than it can keep up with. It is used internationally with many caving organizations partnering and providing information. If TSA decides to allow free digital access to The Texas Caver, I hope TSA will agree to post it on the Karst Information Portal. I'll be glad to answer any questions, and to coordinate posting The Texas Caver to the Portal if TSA members agree. George -----Original Message----- From: Mark Alman [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Sunday, December 27, 2009 9:00 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [Texascavers] TSA Winter Business Meeting Agenda - Sunday, January 10th, 2010. Agenda New Business o Open up the TEXAS CAVER to free access after one year of publish date?
