A bipartisan effort in the US capitol seeks to open public access to federally funded research results. Legislation was pursued and enacted in the biomedical sciences due to the strong connections between medical treatment and cutting edge research. The NIH therefore established PubMed as a free access portal for all NIH funded research results. Now, as the whole federal research portfolio is under scrutiny, all the players have valid concerns. Citizens’ tax-investment entitles them to scholarly returns. Publisher subscription prices overburden libraries. Publishers, alternatively, incur real costs, especially high end and widely distributed issues. Additionally, many publishers operate as not-for-profit professional societies and add significant value to their fields by facilitating peer review, disseminating research results, and promoting the field.
In sum, three stake holders exist: consumers (citizens), librarians (universities), and publishers (professional societies). The consumers feel entitled to the content; libraries feel they pay too much for the content; and publishers demand compensation from someone. Open access is, therefore, a tricky proposition and which will likely demand compromise between publishers and government.
In sum, three stake holders exist: consumers (citizens), librarians (universities), and publishers (professional societies). The consumers feel entitled to the content; libraries feel they pay too much for the content; and publishers demand compensation from someone. Open access is, therefore, a tricky proposition and which will likely demand compromise between publishers and government.
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