> All librarians should be constructively critical of all
> publishers, not just Elsevier.

Constructive criticism is essential, yes.  But there's a big difference
between being critical and just expressing suspicion.  Criticism implies
substance; it implies that one has done some analysis and arrived at a
defensible conclusion.  Expressing suspicion, by contrast, is just a
cheap and easy way of casting aspersion without taking responsibility.

I'm not defending Elsevier here.  I'm saying that we on the library side
need to be more responsible in our rhetoric.  It also behooves us to
undertake the kind of work that is required in order to make
constructive critiques of Elsevier and other publishers.

In that spirit, is there anyone out there who would like to collaborate
with me on a substantive study of journal coverage in Scopus (and maybe
its competitors)?  I'm not exactly sure how to go about it, but I think
it needs to be done.

----
Rick Anderson
Dir. of Resource Acquisition
University of Nevada, Reno Libraries
(775) 784-6500 x273
rickand@unr.edu