Steven E. Koonin, the provost of the California Institute of Technology, has set off a debate on his campus by suggesting that faculty members should refuse to sign over the copyright on journal articles they publish. Mr. Koonin argued that faculty members and universities should have control over articles that are produced on campus. Such a shift, he said, would allow for easier dissemination of research results, and would save colleges from having to pay huge sums of money to subscribe to journals with articles by professors on campus. Some faculty members are embracing the idea. Others fear that their own careers could be hurt if they do not play by the publishers' current rules. Is Mr. Koonin's strategy one that universities should pursue? For further information, see this background story:
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