I believe in open access publication … this is one of my strongest convictions. I hadn’t realized how strongly I felt about this until I moved deep into my research of the open source movement.

Lawrence Lessig is certainly one of the leaders in the push for open content, and the Creative Commons is a wonderful, living statement to the conviction of others in transforming the social and legal understanding of copyright/copyleft.

I was very interested in reading Lessig’s recent post where he declares his “open access pledge”.

“I will not agree to publish in any academic journal that does not permit me the freedoms of at least a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial license.”

So I wonder … and struggle …. Here I am at the beginning of my academic career, in a world where the old adage “publish or perish” still stands strong. Can I, in my position, possibly resound Lessig’s pledge? While my heart and mind will fight for this, what sacrifices will I have to make in the short term? Or, alternately, will I be able to build my career through the opposition of this seeming inevitability? It’s too soon to tell … one thing at a time … but what a ride it will be.