Emily Singer, Scientists stumped by dual push for open access, secrecy, News@Nature, September 28, 2004. Excerpt: "The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) is increasingly moving to adopt schemes that promote open access to scientific information. Most scientists favor the plans, but the push is adding confusion over how to balance openness with simultaneously rising security concerns about biodefense research. Beginning in October, the NIH plans to require grant applicants to describe how they will make their data available to other scientists. The agency has also announced plans to make all NIH-funded research papers freely available six months after publication. There is other support for the open sharing of data as well. The US National Research Council in September released a report firmly advocating continued public access to genome sequences of microbial pathogens, saying the benefits of sharing data outweigh the potential risks. But as spending on biodefense research continues to grow, some scientists and administrators are concerned over the lack of specific criteria for judging sensitive content."
Posted by
Peter Suber at 9/29/2004 09:33:00 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.
