Will EU beat UK in open access?
Stephen Pincock
The Scientist
April 21, 2006
http://www.the-scientist.com/news/display/23341/
On Wed, 19 Apr 2006, Stevan Harnad wrote:
> Re:
>
> > European Commission "Study on the Economic and Technical Evolution of
> > the Scientific Publication Markets in Europe" policy recommendation:
> > http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/science-society/pdf/scientific-publication-study_en.pdf
> >
> > RECOMMENDATION A1. GUARANTEE PUBLIC ACCESS TO PUBLICLY-FUNDED
> > RESEARCH RESULTS SHORTLY AFTER PUBLICATION. Research funding
> > agencies have a central role in determining researchers' publishing
> > practices. Following the lead of the NIH and other institutions,
> > they should promote and support the archiving of publications in open
> > repositories, after a (possibly domain-specific) time period to be
> > discussed with publishers. This archiving could become a condition for
> > funding. The following actions could be taken at the European level:
> > (i) Establish a Europea policy mandating published articles arising
> > from EC-funded research to be available after a given time period
> > in open access archives, and (ii) Explore with Member States and
> > with European research and academic associations whether and how
> > such policies and open repositories could be implemented.
>
> The press is picking up on this, but, as usual, it's focussing on the
> (pseudo-)sensational and completely missing the point:
>
> The point is that the EC too -- along with the UK Select Committee,
> the RCUK, Berlin 3, the Wellcome Trust and NIH (among others) is
> moving toward the (inevitable, optimal) decision to mandate Open
> Access Self-Archiving -- in order to maximise research access and
> impact. A splendid thing, and a long overdue boost to research,
> researchers, and the tax-payers who support them.
>
> But what are the newspapers going on and on about? Publishing, journal
> prices, and supposed threats to big, bad Reed-Elsevier and others!
> Utter nonsense and a foolish, distracting, time-wasting side-show.
>
> Research publishing and author author self-archiving of published
> research will of course co-exist peacefully. But I suppose that this
> sort of empty sensationalism is the inevitable accompaniment of every
> event and pseudo-event in our opine-media age...
>
> (In reality, Reed Elsevier and most of the other major publishers are
> being progressive and constructive on self-archiving, with 93% of the
> top 9000 journals having already given it their blessing:
> http://romeo.eprints.org/ )
>
> But look what the press is instead prattling about:
>
> Publishers watch in fear...
> Guardian Unlimited, UK -
> "The move by the European commission to free up access to scientific
> research is the latest challenge posed by the internet to the way
> Reed Elsevier does..."
> http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1756428,00.html
>
> Brussels delivers blow to Reed Elsevier --
> Guardian Unlimited, UK
> "Scientific research funded by the European taxpayer should be freely
> available to everyone over the internet, according to a European
> commission report..."
> http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1756426,00.html
>
> Open access: EU blow to scientific publishing Hindu, India - London,
> April 19 (GUARDIAN NEWS SERVICE): "Scientific research funded by the
> European taxpayer should be freely available to everyone over the
> internet ... "
> http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/008200604191250.htm
>
> Scientific research 'should be free on web' TMCnet - (The Irish Times
> Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) BRITAIN:
> "Scientific research funded by the European taxpayer should be freely
> available to everyone..."
> http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/-scientific-research-should-be-free-web-/2006/04/19/1585013.htm
>
> ----------
>
> "Journalists,
> like moths and drunks,
> seem attracted,
> irresistibly,
> where the light
> shines, not
> where the key lies"
>
> István Hesslein
>
> Perinent Prior AmSci Topic Thread:
> "The UK report, press coverage, and the Green and Gold Roads to
> Open Access" (started Jul 2004)
> http://www.ecs.soton.ac.uk/~harnad/Hypermail/Amsci/3888.html
>
Received on Fri Apr 21 2006 - 21:01:00 BST