Open Access to scientific publications: a new hope
Both in trade and in science there is the problem of control of (more briefly, but lost in accuracy, it also speaks of 'control of access). However, there is a gap between the control of information that, in business, relies heavily on intellectual property and what, in the perimeter of the scientific community, is based on informal rules. What is the impact of digital technologies on these different conceptions of control and on the relationships that arise between them? To try to answer the question my reasoning is structured according to the following scan logic.
In paragraph 2 are summarized the terms of the difference between intellectual property and informal rules of the scientific community. In paragraph 3 alludes to the traditional system of scientific publications and the problem of exponential price periodicals. In paragraph 4 shall briefly describe some basic features of digital technologies and their fallout on the forms of control. In paragraph 5 the focus is on abuse which is the power generated by the rigid and centralized control of information. In Paragraph 6, the complaint is a risk that the rigid and centralized control of information based on business logic colonises scientific knowledge, making it less accessible to scientists and the public. In paragraph 7 sets out how the scientific community is trying to counter this risk with the movement which is called the Open Access (OA) and how this movement is supported by statements, policies and guidelines of national public institutions and international. In paragraph 8 you go through some obstacles to the final statement of board as a model alternative (or complementary) to the traditional form of scientific publishing.
Posted by
Peter Suber at 3/07/2009 03:01:00 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.
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.
