The Open Access philosophy has became an invaluable tool for guaranteeing free
access to information in a Knowledge Society deeply marked by digital divides,
copyright barriers and new forms of information illiteracy. Information has the power to
improve development, to provide solutions to urgent problems, to recover identities
from oblivion, to assert rights and values, and to help personal and professional growth.
In short, information is a key element in the achievement of the social welfare that any
people deserve. On the one hand, when information is free accessed, using new digital
technologies and copyright in a way that is correct and appropriate, Open Access
movement guarantees equality of opportunities to access strategic knowledge, which is
within everybody’s rights. On the other, Open Access also guarantees the freedom of
expression and fosters the cooperative and active creation of healthy democratic
societies. Only within an informed context can new proposals be submitted and
appropriate decisions made towards the development of a country, the education of a
community and the personal and professional growth of the persons that make it up,
with no distinctions, barriers or differences at all. The following paragraphs are intended
as a general description of the fundamental concepts around this way of working and as
an introduction to the main initiatives and best practices on Open Access developed in
Latin America.
Posted by
Gavin Baker at 6/07/2008 05:48:00 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.
