I had marked my calendar for when The Land Is Our Community: Aldo Leopold’s Environmental Ethic for the New Millennium would become open access, as the author told me would be, but it most certainly has not. Very disappointing. I even waited for some time after the initial release and searched for where the eBook would be open access, but it looks like that didn’t happen. In truth, I would have been more than willing to buy it, but after being told one thing and then that not being true, I am a bit turned off from spending what little money I have on it. Very disappointed. I am familiar with the subject and would like to see how this book approached it and shaped the content.
Update: 8/22/24: Received an email from the author. She basically said she was informed that an open access version of the eBook is still coming, but the publisher had changed those dates. As of right now the eBook is still $30. Which, yes, I know is not a lot, but when you live paycheck to paycheck, it can be. The author states an open access of the eBook is still coming and that this has been out of her hands. So, it is the publisher that exploits interested readers in getting to pay first for what will in time be freely available. It still leaves a bad taste in my mouth, even noting it is not the authors fault.
A reform amongst these types of publishers is greatly needed. While there has been considerable progress in recent years, there is still a long ways to go.