Robert Walgate, UK risks 'losing science data', The Scientist, April 22, 2004. Summarizing yesterday's session of the UK inquiry, emphasizing the testimony on long-term access and preservation. Excerpt: "Lynne Brindley, chief executive of the British Library, sought the support of the UK House of Commons Select Committee for Science and Technology yesterday (April 21) for a £12 million, 2-year investment at the library, to create a long-term national depository for digital scientific information and publications....The lack of a public record is also inhibiting the development of digital publications, said Brindley....Ian Gibson, chairman of the committee and MP for Norwich North, read out a submission from the University of East Anglia: 'Not only is the university restricted in giving access to its neighboring research, professional, and educational concerns, but also in our regional role as a major source of scientific information for the public. This goes against the government's desire to make science and its workings more open and available to the public. In hard copy, you have equal access provided you understand it; online presupposes privileged access.' 'That's what we've been saying,' said witness Frederick Friend, consultant to UK academia's Joint Information Systems Committee. 'The answer to my mind is open-access publication…I'd urge the committee to recommend to the government that in any publicly funded research, the articles based upon that research be freely accessible over the Internet.' "
Posted by
Peter Suber at 4/22/2004 02:06:00 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.
