In recent months, there has been growing support for a national digital strategy. ...
Since broad principles rarely generate action, the government should forego the conventional strategy and move directly to an action plan with specific deliverables. ...
After years of closed, "walled garden" approaches, the world is embracing the benefits of openness. The City of Vancouver recently adopted an openness policy that establishes a preference for open standards, open source software, and open government data. The federal government should do the same, promoting the use of cost-effective open source software and the benefits of commercial and civic activity around accessible government data. ...
The openness principle should also cover access to taxpayer-funded research. In recent months, the United States and the European Union have taken strong steps toward making their research openly available, with legislative mandates that require researchers who accept public grants to make their published research results freely available online within a reasonable time period.
In Australia, Senator Kim Carr, who serves as the Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, has remarked that "to the maximum extent practicable, information, research and content funded by the Australian governments. . . should be made freely available over the Internet as part of the global public commons. This should be done while the Australian Government encourages other countries to reciprocate by making their own contributions to the global digital public commons." Canada can ill-afford to remain a by-stander as other countries create an open global science commons. ...
Canada could also get on with the job of creating a national digital library by digitizing millions of Canadian books for the benefit of Canadian authors and the broader public. Moreover, groups like the CBC and the National Film Board should be working to digitize thousands of hours of Canadian film, television shows, and radio programs. ...
Posted by
Gavin Baker at 6/18/2009 08:02:00 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.
