Ken Peach, Join the open-access revolution, CERN Courier, June-August, 2005. Excerpt: 'There is a quiet revolution under way in academic publishing that will change how we publish and access scientific knowledge. "Open access", made possible by new electronic tools, will give enormous benefits to all readers by providing free access to research results. The scientific articles published in journals under the traditional publishing paradigm are paid for through subscriptions by libraries and individuals, creating barriers for those unable to pay. The ever-increasing cost of the traditional publishing methods means that many libraries in Europe and the US - even the CERN Library, which is supposed to serve international researchers at a centre of excellence - are unable to offer complete coverage of their core subjects....An obvious prerequisite for open access is that institutions implement a policy requiring their researchers to deposit a copy of all their published works in an open-access repository. The Council for the Central Laboratory of the Research Councils' library committee in the UK sponsored such a project, ePubs, with the aim of achieving an archive of the scientific output of CCLRC in the form of journal articles, conference papers, technical reports, e-prints, theses and books, containing the full text where possible (CERN Courier, May 2005 p44). The feasibility study, carried out from January to March 2003, demonstrated the business need for this service within the organization. The data, going back to the mid-1960s, can be retrieved using the search interface or the many browse indices, which include year, author and journal title. In addition the ePubs system is today indexed by Google and Google Scholar. The scientific content of the system has further led Thomson ISI (the provider of information resources including Web of Knowledge and Science Citation Index) to classify ePubs as a high-quality resource. The next step is to encourage the researchers - while of course fully respecting their academic freedom - to publish their research articles in open-access journals where a suitable journal exists....If a change is wanted, it is up to us. Particle physics cannot change the world alone, but a clear position among our authors and our members of editorial boards will have a strong synergy with our colleagues pulling in the same direction in other fields.' Peach is the Chair of the CERN Scientific Policy Committee. (Thanks to Jens Vigen.)
Posted by
Peter Suber at 6/10/2005 11:16:00 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.
