The University of Southampton has committed itself to providing open access to the research output of the university. From yesterday's press release: 'The University of Southampton is to make all its academic and scientific research output freely available. A decision by the University to provide core funding for its Institutional Repository establishes it as a central part of its research infrastructure, marking a new era for Open Access to academic research in the UK. Until now, the databases used by universities to collect and disseminate their research output have been funded on an experimental basis by JISC (the Joint Information Systems Committee). The University of Southampton is the first in the UK to announce that it is transitioning its repository from the status of an experiment to an integral part of the research infrastructure of the institution. 'This decision by the University marks a real milestone in the Open Access initiative,' says Dr Leslie Carr. 'At Southampton we have a significant headstart since we created the EPrints software that is used by many UK universities, but we expect and indeed hope that others will soon give similar status to their own archives.' Dr Carr is Technical Director of the open source EPrints.org software, which is now used by around 150 repositories worldwide.'
(PS: This is significant for several reasons. First, Southampton has absorbed the costs of its repository into its own budget and will no longer rely on external funding. That is a key step in recognizing that sharing university research is part of the mission of a university. Second, the Southampton repository is now a commitment, not just an experiment, and a university-wide project, not just the project of a few individuals or departments. Finally, Southampton has set an example for other institutions. Installing a repository is not enough. An institution must make a commitment to fill it. Only then is the respository useful to the institution and to researchers worldwide. Kudos to Southampton and all who helped develop the new policy.)
Posted by
Peter Suber at 12/16/2004 08:08:00 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.
