Abstract: Sustainability in the knowledge society requires the use of knowledge and information based on the principle of sustainability. As with physical resources, sustainable management of knowledge and information relies upon a proper valuation of the commons. One resource with a convincing case for being managed as a commons is the body of academic knowledge. The scholarly output of the world’s academics, particularly journal literature, is dedicated to the advancement of human knowledge. The Internet allows the unprecedented transmission of this knowledge at close to zero marginal cost. This situation creates remarkable new possibilities. Academics are increasingly realizing this opportunity, in what is termed the open access movement. However, there remains a need for further awareness and implementation. In this field report, I describe the status of the open access movement, examine the questions facing free scholarship, and explore the consequences for social sustainability.
Posted by
Peter Suber at 10/23/2007 12:56:00 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.
