Soras are unobtrusive birds. A bit smaller than a robin, and a bit bigger than a bluebird, they generally spend their time hidden deep in dense marsh vegetation and are tough to get a look at.
As such, they are not an obvious symbol of openness and visibility in the world of ornithology.
Nonetheless, the Searchable Ornithological Research Archive has taken its name from the ready-made acronym provided by this small bird, and is set to become an important resource for anyone interested in the scientific study of birds.
SORA is the avian contribution to the open-access movement, which makes scientific journal articles accessible over the Web, where anyone can can read them.
The project results from collaboration between the leading ornithological societies in North America and the University of New Mexico to create an archive of research published in the top bird journals.
And unlike the real soras, the electronic library is easy to find on the [internet]: [here].
Posted by
Peter Suber at 12/15/2005 01:15:00 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.
