Randolph Schmid, NIH Seeks Speedy Public Release of Data, Associated Press (this copy from the Kansas City Star), February 3, 2005. Excerpt: 'Scientists should make their findings from new research available to the public promptly, and no later than a year after a study has appeared in print, the National Institutes of Health recommended on Thursday. "My goal is to change the landscape of scientific publishing" to increase public access to information developed with the NIH's financial support, said the institutes' director, Dr. Elias Zerhouni. Beginning May 2, NIH will strongly encourage researchers to make their findings available as soon as possible, he said. Most scientific findings are published in peer-reviewed journals. Subscriptions to various journals can cost hundreds or thousands of dollars. Patient advocates have complained that such costs limit access to this information. They have sought immediate and free access to research produced with the help of taxpayers, such as studies funded by NIH...."The chief problem with the new rule is that it could significantly delay public access to publicly funded medical research," Suber said in a statement, adding that since it is voluntary, some scientists could decide not to release their findings at all. "The new rule also creates a difficult dilemma for NIH-funded scientists by forcing them to choose between their funding agency and their publisher. The NIH will ask authors to choose early public release and many publishers will ask authors to choose late public release," he said.'
Posted by
Peter Suber at 2/04/2005 08:38:00 AM.
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.
