Preservation of Academic Knowledge Resources as Public Goods

This chapter will explain, why electronic knowledge resources in academia cannot exclusively be treated as private commodities, but can also be seen as public goods. After sketching a concept of public goods for a post-national, global society, three types of electronic knowledge resources are distinguished: scholarly publications, course materials, and academic software. With the help of practical examples, similarities between these resources are developed. Finally, it will be explained what advantages the status of public good for knowledge resources would have and how it could be achieved by the academic community.