Leslie Chan and Sely Costa, Participation in the global knowledge commons: challenges and opportunities for research dissemination in developing countries, New Library World, 106, 3/4 (2005). The journal offers only the abstract free online, but see the OA edition of the full text at TSpace, the University of Toronto repository. Abstract: 'This paper aims to provide a review of recent trends in the Open Access movement, as well as to discuss the significance of those trends for information access in developing countries....Due to improving Internet connectivity and a growing number of international initiatives, knowledge workers in developing countries are now getting access to scholarly and scientific publications and electronic resources at a level that is unmatched historically. This is highly significant, particularly in areas of medicine, agricultural and environmental sciences, and development literature that are much needed if developing countries are to meet the Millennium Development Goals. The Open Access movement and the growing number of Open Archive Initiative compliant institutional repositories promise to provide even greater access to resources and publications that were previously inaccessible. These low cost technology and interoperability standards are providing great opportunities for libraries and publishers in developing countries to disseminate local research and to bridge the South-North knowledge gap. This paper therefore provides recommendations for knowledge workers on how to actively participate in and contribute to the global knowledge commons. The results and recommendations contained in the paper should be of interest to authors, policy makers, funding agencies and information professionals in both developing and developed countries.'
Posted by
Peter Suber at 4/01/2005 09:43:00 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.
