Tag Archives: Open Access

Elsevier distances itself from open-access article

The publisher Elsevier has disassociated itself from an article by a trade association it belongs to that condemns proposed open-access mandates in several US states.
See the comment by Mike Taylor beyond the article mentioned above and also see this blog post by Peter Suber, who will start as Harvard’s director of the Office for Scholarly Communication (OSC) from July 1, 2013. Information Today reports on this topic as well, revealing the network behind it.

What is impact?

 Metrics are very important. They decide who gets hired and promoted, help us judge the value of research that’s funded, and what new research gets funding. However, it’s important to recognize that impact measures – whether citations, downloads, tweets or shares – shouldn’t be confused with the kind of scientific impact that matters most.

Apotheosis of cynicism and deceit from scholarly publishers

Michael Eisen on the Association of American Publishers’ reaction on the open access movement.
 the AAP’s defense of the status quo has descended to new depths: (…)  a letter sent last week to the California Assembly opposing AB609, which would provide the public with access to state funded research.

UNESCO to make its publications available free of charge as part of a new Open Access policy | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

UNESCO will make its digital publications available to millions of people around the world free-of-charge with an open license. Following a decision by the Organization’s Executive Board in April, UNESCO has become the first member of the United Nations to adopt such an Open Access policy for its publications. The new policy means that anyone will be able to download, translate, adapt, distribute and re-share UNESCO publications and data without paying.

Registration is now open for the 5th Conference on Open Access Scholarly Publishing | Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association

The Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association, OASPA, is pleased to announce that registration is now open for the 5th Conference on Open Access Scholarly Publishing (COASP) which will be held in Riga, Latvia, September 18th – 20th, 2013. Registration and accommodation information for COASP 2013 can found on the conference website:http://oaspa.org/conference/

Towards Open Access to Government Science: The Obama Administration Takes Some Important Steps – The Equation

This week, the National Research Council is holding public comment meetings on increasing public access to federally funded research—both access to the data and publications. We encouraged the UCS Science Network to weigh in with their own ideas on how the government can increase public access to its science. After all, this is the science that we all pay for through our tax dollars.

Conference re:publica 13 – Berlin, Germany.

From 6 – 8 May 2013, re:publica will be turning the digital society IN/SIDE/OUT for the seventh time with the help of a wide range of speakers and perspectives. At the same time, it invites all guests to turn their output into input and vice-versa.
The Conference is questioning the following:
While we were always sure that at some point everyone would use the mechanisms offered by Web2.0, the question remains: Who profits in the end? Will citizens embrace obligations of governments and businesses to become more transparent, while at the same time tolerate the non-transparency of those companies which form the structures of the internet? Or will we soon pull the plug and return to a place where privacy is tangible again? Will we replace the INternet with an OUTernet?
See the program here. Livestream here. See also this interview on the occasion of re:publica with Raegan MacDonald, canadian data activist and senior policy analyst at access - mobilizing for global digital freedom. FAZ online. In German.

The opportunity cost of paywalled research

My eye was caught by this tweet: https://twitter.com/gvwilson/status/330747014340018177 And I found myself wondering how often this scenario plays out around the world every day. (…) How many thousands of valuable conversations never happen because you can’t idly browse at $15 a pop?
Mike Taylor on what potentials will be missed if science keeps being paywalled.

Nominate A Pioneer …

… who has applied scientific research published through Open Access to innovate in any field. Deadline: June 15th, 2013
The Accelerating Science Award Program (ASAP) recognizes individuals who have used, applied, or remixed scientific research — published through Open Access — to make a difference in science, medicine, business, technology or society as a whole.
  • Three top awards of $30,000 each*
  • A trip to Washington, D.C., to be honored at Open Access Week in October, 2013
  • Inclusion in a portfolio book distributed online and in print around the world
*See the program rules for details on the awards and program requirements.
See also here and here.