[InetBib] COAR reaffirms support for immediate open access to research articles

["Putlitz, Maxie" <putlitz@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

***Apologies for cross-posting***


Major international associations reaffirm their support for immediate open 
access to research articles

On the occasion of Open Access Week, COAR and other international associations 
are reaffirming their support for immediate open access to research results.

As organizations committed to the principle that access to information advances 
discovery, accelerates innovation and improves education, we endorse the 
policies and practices that enable Open Access - immediate, barrier free access 
to and reuse of scholarly articles.

Policies that promote Open Access are increasingly being adopted world wide by 
research funders, academic institutions and national governments in order to 
improve the use and value of scholarly research. We fully support such policies 
and the dual avenues for implementing them: open access repositories and open 
access journals. These policies play an important role in creating an 
environment where our collective investments in research can be maximized for 
the benefit of the public, and for society at large.

Many policies have employed the use of embargo periods - delayed access to 
research articles for a short period of time to help protect publishers' 
subscription revenue as they shift to new business models. We consider the use 
of embargo periods as an acceptable transitional mechanism to help facilitate a 
wholesale shift towards Open Access. However, embargo periods dilute the 
benefits of open access policies and we believe that, if they are adopted, they 
should be no more than 6 months for the life and physical sciences, 12 months 
for social sciences and humanities.  We further believe that mechanisms for 
reducing - or eliminating - embargo periods should be included in any Open 
Access policy.

Any delay in the open availability of research articles curtails scientific 
progress and stifles innovation, and places unnecessary constraints in 
delivering the benefits of research back to the public.
We urge all organizations and individuals that support immediate open access to 
endorse the statement available 
here<https://www.coar-repositories.org/activities/advocacy-leadership/aligning-repository-networks-across-regions/statement-about-embargo-periods/>.

Numerous associations and institutions from around the world have already lent 
their support to this statement.

Current signatories are:

  *   COAR: Confederation of Open Access Repositories
  *   EIFL: Electronic Information for Libraries
  *   LIBER: Ligue des Bibliothèques Européennes de Recherche - Association of 
European Research Libraries
  *   National Science Library, Chinese Academy of Sciences
  *   OpenAIRE: Open Access Infrastructure for Research in Europe
  *   SPARC: Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition
  *   Electronic Frontier Foundation, USA
  *   Research Libraries of the United Kingdom
  *   Coaliton for Action "Copyright for Education and Research" 
(Aktionsbündnis "Urheberrecht für Bildung und Wissenschaft"), Germany
  *   Australian National University
  *   AOASG: Australian Open Access Support Group
  *   INRIA: Institut national de recherche en informatique et en automatique, 
France
  *   NEREUS: Network of European Libraries in Economics and Social Sciences
  *   Carnegie Mellon University, USA
  *   Association of Southeastern Research Libraries, USA
  *   SPARC Europe
  *   CLASCO: Latin America Council of Social Sciences

For more information, please contact:

Kathleen Shearer
Executive Director, COAR
kathleen.shearer@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:kathleen.shearer@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
www.coar-repositories.org<http://www.coar-repositories.org>
Skype: kathleen.shearer2
+1 514 847 9068


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