Klaus Graf has posted an detailed critique of the way German libraries thwart open access. His post is in German, but he sent me this short English-language summary:
German libaries are working against OA. Reasons:
only a small number of library journals are OA (see Bailey re ALA)
they do not remove permission barriers (e.g. by labelling eprints with CC licenses)
they claim [copyright] protection also for OAI-metadata
they are tyrannts re permission to use public-domain materials and copyfraudists (most fervent accusation)
they are blocking the building of a rich public domain (charging too high prices for digital reproductions)
Posted by
Peter Suber at 8/13/2006 09:49:00 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.
