The synthesis of the responses to the European Commission's (EC's) research-access related recommendations is alas so far still rather wishy-washy. One hopes that the EC will not lose sight of the fact that researchers (and their institutions and funders) are both the providers and the users of research (in generating further research as well as applications for the benefit of the tax-paying public that funds the research). Research is not done, or funded, in order to support the publishing industry. EC Recommendation A1 was for an Open Access Self-Archiving Mandate. That is a matter for the European Research Community to decide upon. It would be a great strategic mistake to let the publishing industry decide what the research community does in order to maximize the European tax-paying public's return on the euros it invests in supporting research. They are not investing in the publishing industry, and far, far more is at stake than the publishing industry's concerns about possible risks to its revenue streams.
Posted by
Peter Suber at 10/07/2006 02:09:00 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.
