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Abstract:
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From page 27:
"...it can be a formidable challenge to explain that the commons is more pervasive than we may realize, and that it can be a highly effective way to create economic and social wealth. That is precisely what this book seeks to demonstrate and explain. A commons model is at work in the social systems for scholarly communication, in the work of research libraries as they gather and share knowledge, and in the behavior of scientific communities as they generate and disseminate their research. A commons model is at work in the new EconPort, which manages a large economics literature for its user community, and in the Conservation Commons, which is building a 'global public domain' for literature about the environment and conservation.
..."The commons has too many variations to be captured in a fixed, universal set of principles. Each commons has distinctive dynamics based on its participants, history, cultural values, the nature of the resource, and so forth. Still, there are some recurring themes evident in different commons. A key goal of this chapter is to showcase the many different sorts of commons operating in American life today and to illustrate how, despite significant differences, they embody certain general principles."
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