I'm your internet charging for your articles

May 5, 2008 11:19 AM

Is there any way to get this article about "Between the Acts" from Literary Encyclopedia without having to pay for it? I have been unable to find it anywhere else.

I don't have access to a working credit card and, besides, I feel it's kinda expensive to pay US$19.95 for the 500-600 words that are behind the cut.

posted by Memo to education (9 comments total)

Is it this?
posted by SlyBevel at 12:44 PM on May 5

Oh, about. Shit.
posted by SlyBevel at 12:44 PM on May 5

Lots of literary portals have access to it, but all seem to be locked down.

Go to your local library and ask if they can help you authenticate into any one of these systems.
posted by SlyBevel at 12:47 PM on May 5

I forgot to mention that I'm Chilean and I don't live in the capital (Santiago), so the possibilities of a local library having access to that system is near zero.
posted by Memo at 12:53 PM on May 5

You can find a colleague at one of the institutions that subscribes to that database and have them forward you a copy of the article. Or, perhaps a mefier at one of these places could do it for you. (my university, unfortunately, doesn't subscribe)
posted by gyusan at 1:19 PM on May 5

If you need this specific article for a specific, genuine reason (beyond "someone please summarize Between the Acts for me so I can finish my homework"), I'd suggest using the site's contact form to write to the editors and politely ask if they can give it to you. They give free subscriptions to institutions in countries with per-capita income below the world average, and while you're not an institution, and while Chile seems to not quite qualify by that measure, I think being a young Chilean student without a credit card or access to Santiago's libraries fits the spirit of the service they're providing there.

Also, while the Encyclopedia's masthead lists dozen's of professor's names, making it seem like a huge faceless professionally-intimidating entity that'll just ignore you, my understanding is that it's pretty close to a one-man operation. A friend of mine wrote two or three articles for it a few years ago, and he dealt directly with the editor (Robert Clark), who is apparently a nice enough guy.

You could also write to the author ([e-mail]), who, I suspect, would be equally sympathetic, but she may be contractually restricted from redistributing the article.
posted by dyoneo at 1:23 PM on May 5

I've sent an email (actually, used the contact form) explaining my situation. Let's hope a solution is worked out. :)

I've also discovered how hard it is to write a polite email when most of your experience in writing in english is in informal settings like this site.
posted by Memo at 2:37 PM on May 5

I've seen folks far more confidant, and far less competent in English than you are. From what I've seen here, I don't think the quality of your English will influence them either way.

I hope one of them decides to help you out.
posted by SlyBevel at 6:58 PM on May 5

They have replied my email and gave me one week of free access to the site, much more than what I expected.

Thanks everyone for the answers!
posted by Memo at 9:02 AM on May 7