Date: Fri, 28 Jul 2006 10:37:16 -0400
From: Ray English <Ray.English@oberlin.edu>
Subject: 25 University Provosts Step Behind FRPAA
To: "ACRL Scholarly Communication T.F." <SCHOLCOMM@ala.org>
Cc: Ray English <Ray.English@oberlin.edu>
From http://insidehighered.com/news/2006/07/28/provosts
Rallying Behind Open Access
Scott Jaschik, Inside Higher Ed
If universities pay the salaries of researchers
and provide them with labs, and the federal
government provides those researchers with
grants for their studies, why should those same
universities feel they can?t afford to have access to research findings?
That?s part of the argument behind a push by
some in Congress to make such findings widely
available at no charge. The Federal Public
Research Access Act would require federal
agencies to publish their findings, online and
free, within six months of their publication
elsewhere. Proponents of the legislation,
including many librarians and professors
frustrated by skyrocketing journal prices, see
such ?open access? as entirely fair. But
publishers ? including many scholarly
associations ? have attacked the bill, warning
that it could endanger research and kill off many journals.
In an attempt to refocus the debate, the
provosts of 25 top universities are jointly
releasing an open letter that strongly backs the
bill and encourages higher education to prepare
for a new way of disseminating research
findings. ?Widespread public dissemination
levels the economic playing field for
researchers outside of well-funded universities
and research centers and creates more
opportunities for innovation. Ease of access and
discovery also encourages use by scholars
outside traditional disciplinary communities,
thus encouraging imaginative and productive
scholarly convergence,? the provosts write...