Steve Stoft has rigged up a custom Google search to search "just about every CRS report available on the web". If you remember, these are taxpayer-funded research reports, famous for their thoroughness and objectivity, commissioned by members of Congress but rarely released to the public. A private sector publisher, however, somehow gets access to them and sells them at a profit to the public and even to other branches of the federal government. In my gradebook of government policies on OA to taxpayer-funded research, this one ties with PACER for last place. Stoft's search engine is the best development on this front in a long time. Not all CRS reports are online, and his search engine may not cover those that are. But it takes us a giant step closer to useful access to this body of research. Kudos, Steve!
Posted by
Peter Suber at 4/01/2004 11:07:00 PM.
The open access movement:
Putting peer-reviewed scientific and scholarly literature
on the internet. Making it available free of charge and
free of most copyright and licensing restrictions.
Removing the barriers to serious research.
I recommend the OA tracking project (OATP) as the best way to stay on top of new OA developments. You can read the OATP feed on a blog-like web page or subscribe to it by RSS, email, or Twitter. You can also help build the feed by tagging new developments you encounter.
