Whereas connecting users with the information they need is one of a library's most essential functions, and access to information is one of librarianship's most cherished values; and
Whereas scholars and funders of research desire to share their research results and enhance the impact of their research; and
Whereas the scholarly publishing industry has been experiencing a cycle of price increases above inflation rates, leading to library cancellations, leading to further price increases, and so forth, with no relief in sight, and has thus negatively impacted access to research; and
Whereas the Open Access alternative involves making peer-reviewed scholarly journal articles freely available over the web through open access journals and/or author self-archiving; [...]
Be it resolved that CLA implement Open Access as expeditiously as possible, and CLA Executive Council report back to the next Annual General Meeting with regards to progress.
Update. The day before the CLA adopted its resolution, the Canadian Association of College and University Libraries (CACUL), adopted a nearly identical resolution. The chief difference is in the final sentence. Where the CLA resolves to implement OA "as expeditiously as possible", CACUL resolves to implement it "to the greatest extent possible with regards to its own publications and communications." CACUL is a division of the CLA.
Posted by
Peter Suber at 6/19/2005 06:59:00 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.
