James Fallows, An Update on Stuff That's Cool (Like Google's Photo Maps), New York Times, April 17, 2005 (free registration required). After discussing Google's maps and aerial photos, Fallows adds a word on a retrograde U.S. government policy. Excerpt: 'Next up, public access to publicly financed data. Previously I mentioned the Bush administration's admirable decision to let the National Weather Service keep distributing its data on free Web sites, rather than funneling it through commercial services. But now the administration is proposing an enormous step in the opposite direction. The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, or N.G.A., is the main map-producing office in the Pentagon. Its detailed topographic studies, produced at public expense, have for decades been the basis of many other products; in particular, virtually every chart used by the nation's airlines relies on the agency's data. Citing security concerns and a few other reasons, the administration now proposes to withdraw all of its aeronautical material from public use on Oct. 1. Through June 1, the N.G.A. will accept comments on this proposal at its Web site, www.nga.mil. Check out its arguments, plus the case for continued openness, made at the press-release portion of www.cartographic.com, and let the agency hear from you.' (PS: For more details, see my blog posting from February 11, 2005.)
Posted by
Peter Suber at 4/19/2005 10:10:00 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.
