Hélène Bosc, Open Access and copyright reform, Opening Scientific Communication, June 1, 2007. In French but with this English-language abstract:
Open Access (OA) is free online access to published research articles provided by and for researchers for uptake and usage in further research. OA can be provided by publishing in a conventional journal and making the postprint (refereed final draft) free online by self-archiving it or by publishing in an OA journal that makes the postprint free online.
It seems that after long years of unawareness and hesitation, researchers and policy makers have at last come to understand what is at stake, and are beginning to move more actively toward OA. Euroscience should use its influence to accelerate OA’s progress. This blog [Opening Scientific Communication] is a means to start a discussion on the subject, among researchers.
My question concerns the proponents of copyright reform. Is Open Access their real goal?
Looking at the physicists’ example, seeking copyright reform does not seem necessary today, if the objective is OA: copyright reform will follow of its own accord once the archives are being reliably filled. Right now it seems more important to focus efforts on ensuring that all researchers self-archive.
Posted by
Peter Suber at 6/04/2007 09:08:00 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.
