Chapter 7: Development
Again, Willinsky returns to the question of “free access.” How does a developing country attain the infrastructure to support open access efforts? Willinsky argues that due to “global initiatives . . . computers and connectivity are appearing . . . in the research libraries and laboratories of universities in the developing world” (96). As the digital divide grows smaller, Willinsky argues it is up to the academic community to ensure that the world is ready to provide open access.
The majority of the chapter focuses on pertinent and eye-opening narratives about the struggles and victories of universities and libraries in developing countries. The moral of the chapter is that “scholars everywhere need to question their assumptions about what constitutes an adequate circulation of their and others’ work” (109). Again, Willinsky’s rhetoric asks individual scholars to consider the role they play in the open access initiative.