The goal is open access to scientific information on the Internet, an unsigned news story, Innovations Report, May 20, 2005. Excerpt: 'The Swedish Research Council now officially stands behind this vision, having signed an international Declaration for Open Access. "Research findings funded by governmental resources must be available to everyone, not only to those who can afford to pay," avers Pär Omling, director general of the Research Council. A fundamental principle in research is the free exchange of information and maximal dissemination of research findings. Against this background, together with the ever more rapid development of the Internet, the Berlin Declaration was formulated nearly two years ago. Thus far, it has been signed by some fifteen organizations associated with universities and research, most of them European. The Research Council is the second Swedish organization to sign, after the Association of Swedish Higher Education. Signatories pledge to encourage researchers to make their findings readily available on the Internet, to develop methods for the quality assurance of online publishing, and to strive to recognize open publications in assessments and appointments....The Research Council is now launching efforts to see how it can work practically to promote open access, as a financier. By the fall, ahead of next year’s round of applications for research funding, Director General Pär Omling wants to have a concrete plan of action.' (PS: Here's an English translation of the Swedish Research Council's statement on OA, blogged here on May 3.)
Posted by
Peter Suber at 5/20/2005 08:17:00 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.
