A consortium of German universities has officially launched the Informationsplattform Open Access, a nationwide platform for information on OA in Germany (online since last September). See today's press release in German or English. Excerpt from the English version:
Open-access.net, an online information platform on open access issues is going online now. The Universities of Bielefeld, Goettingen, Constance and the Free University of Berlin jointly operate the platform and have received funding from the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG). The platform intends to inform on the growing scientific and political significance of open access issues.....
Open-access.net is the first online platform providing information on open access in German language. Since 2006 the platform has been funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) supporting scientists and research institutions to implement open access in practice. Open-access.net offers information on publishing strategies, costs and legal aspects. Additionally, it presents convincing arguments for the use of open access not only for researchers but also for research institutions, universities, professional associations, libraries and publishing houses.
The Universities of Bielefeld, Goettingen, Constance and the Free University of Berlin who belong to the pioneers of the open access movement in Germany jointly operate the platform open-access.net. It is also supported by the German Rectors' Conference, the Volkswagen Foundation and the German Initiative for Networked Information (Deutsche Initiative für Netzwerkinformation e. V., DINI). Moreover, the Helmholtz Association (Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft) and the Max Planck Society (Max-Planck-Gesellschaft) provide additional information on their open access policies. An academic advisory council will regularly evaluate the platform to meet the needs of researchers.
Open-access.net starts to offer a broad variety of information materials and practical assistance. However, discipline-related information pages are still under construction. As a result, specific information on open access is currently not available for every discipline. But all users are explicitly invited to contribute to the platform by submitting additional news, information and suggestions. Therefore, the category “News” will present submitted contributions and information on new developments concerning open access that can be subscribed via RSS-feed. Additionally, a moderated mailing list will provide an opportunity to discuss open access issues.
Posted by
Peter Suber at 5/02/2007 02:44:00 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.
