Oh, what a day! So I’ve been waiting for two years for something this big: an article about Sphere College in Chronicle of Higher Education! The big time! This is the article that could turn everything around!
But oh, wait. It’s only available via subscription. So most people whom I know can’t read it. And even if I should obtain a copy (I don’t have a subscription, and I don’t actually have the money to spend on a subscription right now) I can’t legally email it out or post it on my website.
Hmm. What to do now? I’ve got to get people reading this thing. It was suggested that I just go ahead and get a copy and post it anyway. I considered this, but only briefly. It just didn’t seem very wise to me to start out a organization built on trust that way.
Ok, well, I’m the founder of a college, right? I should be able to figure this out. I’ll make a few calls and talk with a few people and see what I can find out.
WELL. I’ll spare you the details. Suffice it to say that I spoke with a number of very nice people, and eventually discovered that all I have to do is pay a licensing fee (there’s this whole fee structure and details about how the article can be distributed) so I can get access to a nice pdf with advertising removed and pretty Chronicle masthead and everything. It turns out that the licensing fee is $675 for 1 year, which allows me to post the article on this website, email it around, and make and distribute copies. Cool! Only I don’t have $675.
SO I called my Dad and my uncle and they’re trying to come up with some money, and my sister offered to help as well. Meanwhile, I’ve got my RocketHub project that is doing pretty well—9 people have donated so far and it jumped from $150 up to $500 since yesterday! AND it was just selected as a Featured Project on the RocketHub home page! (It’s a kind of tiny photo—look for my smiling face.)
So if you’d like to see the article AND do something good for youths in Phoenixville, it would be a huge help if you could donate a small amount to my RocketHub project AND help spread the word on Twitter, Facebook, sending emails, etc. Then I’ll have the funds to purchase the license and make it available here. Sound good? Good.
And, oh look, it appears to have just now jumped to $550 in donations! Let’s go see who donated…Coleen! Thank you!
And check out this video.
May 26, 2011 at 1:15 pm
$675?!???
May 26, 2011 at 5:45 pm
Have you tried checking your local Library? Most have subscriptions. A motivated person can go and read it there, can’t they? Support your public libraries!
May 27, 2011 at 3:06 pm
I did check the local library. No access. Funding for libraries, you know. Of course, once we’ve raised enough money to support our infrastructure we’ll be able to do some joint fundraising with the library since having a college in town with certainly increase the demand for their resources. I’ve been discussing this with them.
May 27, 2011 at 1:10 pm
Congratulations on the article and your venture. There is definitely a market for what you are pioneering. I hope the money follows.
May 27, 2011 at 3:38 pm
Thank you for your kind comments.
May 27, 2011 at 1:29 pm
Hey, I don’t subscribe to the Chronicle, but I check the site often for leads. Ntl, I found my way here with a bit of quick googling and now I’m looking for more info about your college, which sounds like a good idea. So $675 or not, you should still get a peak in traffic. Use it wisely!
May 28, 2011 at 2:04 pm
Like FB, I came to your site the same way. I am really interested in hearing more about what you are trying to accomplish. It sounds exciting.
May 29, 2011 at 2:31 pm
I saw your article on the Chronicle’s web site. Intriguing. I’ll have to view your videos to see if I can get a better sense of what you are doing.
Does the $675 cover only this one article? Or does it allow for more?
Just curious.
May 29, 2011 at 3:50 pm
I believe the fee covers just the one article. Yes, the vimeo video on our ‘About’ page should explain a bit more, and we’re working on more videos: http://www.vimeo.com/9087364. Cheers, Richard