The Greater Western Library Alliance (GWLA) has publicly released its July 31 letter to Sen. John Cornyn in support of FRPAA. The letter is signed by 22 university provosts --above and beyond the 25 who signed the July 28letter organized by the ATA. Excerpt from the new letter:
As chief academic officers, we are writing to you in support of the Federal Research Public Access Act of 2006, representing 21 of the 30 member universities of the Greater Western Library Alliance (GWLA). With campuses in 16 states in the western and mid-western U.S., GWLA universities enroll more than 600,000 undergraduates and 200,000 graduate students. Our aggregate full-time faculty ranks exceed 50,000.
Dissemination of results is an essential component of research and our investment in science. We share your concern that far too often the results of research funded by the U.S. government are not broadly available to researchers, scientists, and members of the public. In addition to ensuring that this research is made available quickly, it is critical also that the published information remain broadly available for future use. We are pleased to see that your bill is designed to support both early, as well as long-term, access to scientific research results.
Public access to publicly funded research facilitates the open discussion needed to accelerate research, share knowledge, improve treatment of diseases, and increase human understanding. Your bill is a crucial step in realizing this goal and we look forward to working with you to secure the bill's passage.
The provosts whose names appear below have endorsed the FRPAA. Additionally, we understand that the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University have contacted your office directly in support of this important bill.
The letter is signed by the chief academic officers of Arizona State University, Baylor University, Iowa State University, Kansas State University, Linda Hall Library of Science, Engineering & Technology, Oklahoma State University, Oregon State University, Rice University, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, University of Arizona, University of Arkansas, University of Colorado at Boulder, University of Hawaii at Manoa, University of Kansas, University of Missouri at Columbia, University of Nebraska at Lincoln, University of Oregon, University of Utah, University of Washington, Utah State University, Washington State University, and Washington University in St. Louis.
Comment. The news gets better and better. This is the second large wave of provost support for OA and FRPAA. See my comments on the first wave in yesterday's issue of my newsletter.
Posted by
Peter Suber at 8/03/2006 04:55:00 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.
