Research and Reporting and Open Access
Momentum for Open Access Research
| Title: | Momentum for Open Access Research (ID: CSD4637) | | Author(s): | Scott Jaschik | | Origin: | Contributed by Organizations or Campuses (2006) | | Type: | Articles, Papers, and Reports | | Abstract: | The presidents of 53 liberal arts colleges have signed a letter supporting the Federal Public Research Access Act, which would require free and public access to research funded by the federal government.
Librarians have for years protested the steeply rising costs of academic journals, noting that each year they can afford fewer of the resources that students and faculty need. Supporters of the legislation argue it would level the playing field for researchers and would appropriately allow public access to publicly funded science.
Publishers of academic journals and the scholarly societies they represent lambasted the legislation, saying it would undermine peer review and the quality of the journals. Allan Adler of the Association of American Publishers said the legislation is "short-sighted" and is simply an attempt by librarians to obtain for free what they have always paid for. The academic community, however, seems inclined to disagree. The new letter of support from college presidents follows similar support in July from the provosts of 25 research universities.
According to the new letter, which was drafted by a library group at Oberlin College, the legislation would "democratize access to research information" and would "benefit education, research, and the general public." | | View this resource: | |
Rallying Behind Open Access
| Title: | Rallying Behind Open Access (ID: CSD4499) | | Author(s): | Scott Jaschik | | Origin: | Contributed by Organizations or Campuses (2006) | | Type: | Articles, Papers, and Reports | | Abstract: | An open letter signed by the provosts of 25 universities supports passage of the Federal Public Research Access Act, which would require federal agencies to publish their research findings online and free within six months of publication elsewhere. Publishers, including scholarly associations, oppose the bill, claiming that it could endanger research and threaten many journals. The provosts' letter encourages higher education to consider changing the way research findings are disseminated while acknowledging that the bill would force publishers and scholarly societies to consider significant shifts in their publishing approach. | | View this resource: | |
NIH Asks for Internet Access to Studies
| Title: | NIH Asks for Internet Access to Studies (ID: CSD3696) | | Author(s): | Maggie Fox (Toshiba America Information Systems) | | Origin: | Contributed by Organizations or Campuses (2005) | | Type: | Articles, Papers, and Reports | | Abstract: | The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) has expressed its support for an open-access model of publishing, at least for research that it funds. The agency called on scientists who receive grants from the NIH to submit their research to PubMed Central, an online database operated by the National Library of Medicine, after such research is published in medical or scientific journals. Elias Zerhouni, director of the NIH, said, "Scientists have a right to see the results of their work disseminated as quickly and broadly as possible, and NIH is committed to helping our scientists exercise this right." Zerhouni said for-profit journals should not be significantly affected by the policy because they only publish a small number of papers on NIH-funded research. Still, he said researchers could request a delay of up to one year after publication before research is made publicly available.
According to NIH estimates, in 2003, 60,000 published papers dealt with research the agency funded. In 2004, the NIH distributed $19.3 billion to 212,000 researchers around the world. | | View this resource: | |
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