In an attempt to bolster his general management skills, he joined a newspaper group in The Netherlands, taking charge as Managing Director of one of the smaller dailies, but the call of science publishing and the promise of an innovative environment at Academic Press proved too hard to resist and he has been in the position of Managing Director of AP's UK operation for just over 5 years now. He takes the blame, with pride, for AP's involvement in the Pilot Site Licence Initiative. Speech against the motion Jan acknowledged that Derek voiced some legitimate concerns but stated that publishers have a role whether they are commercial or non-commercial and Derek should not include ALL publishers in his arguments. Trade is the motor of society. It is the creator of material and immaterial wealth.
Trade is synonymous with commerce and with commerce comes profit .
Commerce is also about value which leads to choices and inevitably to restrictions. Information is not a commodity, it does not disappear. Scientific journals provide channels for communication, a vehicle for the publication of scientific results, a quality checking mechanism and an archive of knowledge. Publishers will be able to offer better value for money and librarians should be aiming to work with forward thinking publishers. National Site Licensing is an example of moving forward.