For more information, contact:
Alison Buckholtz, 202-296-2296 x115
or <alison [at] arl.org>
http://www.arl.org/sparc
SPARC PARTNERS WITH BIOMED CENTRAL TO STRENGTHEN
OPEN-ACCESS PUBLISHING MODELS
SPARC to support BioMed Central's alternative business models for online
journals
Washington, DC - SPARC (the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources
Coalition) today announced its partnership with BioMed Central
(
http://www.biomedcentral.com). BioMed Central (BMC), an independent
publishing house, is committed to providing free access to peer-reviewed
biomedical research and has made a permanent commitment to open access,
regardless of future changes in ownership of the company. BMC publishes
more than 50 online journals covering biology, medicine, and the life sciences.
As partners, SPARC will support BioMed Central's efforts to develop a
sustainable business model that will ensure long-term open access to
biomedical research results. BioMed Central, which participated in
drafting the Budapest Open Access Initiative
(
http://www.soros.org/openaccess) and supports both PubMed Central and
self-archiving, has led the way among commercial publishers in making free
and immediate access to scientific articles and journals a reality.
"BioMed Central's commitment to long-term, open access to scientific
research, our stance on copyright and licensing, and our low-cost
institutional memberships bring real-world value to libraries testing
alternative journal publishing models," notes Vitek Tracz, BioMed Central
founder and Chairman of Current Science Group. "SPARC members and
affiliates can remain confident that BioMed Central's permanent commitment
to open access will ensure that all BMC journals will remain available both
retrospectively and prospectively in all eventualities, including any
future changes in ownership."
''BioMed Central is a leading effort to provide open access to scientific
research," observes Rick Johnson, SPARC Enterprise Director. "SPARC
supports BMC because it delivers the benefits of open access to users the
world over. We are also eager to see the dynamics of a bold new business
model played out in the BMC test tube - an environment that encourages risk
taking, and has its eye on achieving sustainability. SPARC encourages its
members and others to support BMC because we believe it is a pioneering
strategy that can benefit scientists and libraries alike."
BioMed Central operates via an institutional membership program. Members
benefit from free article processing for any of their research staff or
students who submit manuscripts to any of the journals published by BioMed
Central. By joining BioMed Central, institutions help ensure the widespread
dissemination of faculty research, promote open access for peer-reviewed
research, and support a process that should result in substantial savings
for institutions and their libraries. Therefore, SPARC will actively
encourage its members to consider membership in BioMed Central.
BioMed Central is exploring other potential sources of revenue, including
sales of archival paper copies of BMC journals, advertising and
sponsorships, and the development of a range of value-added
services. These latter could include literature reviews and analysis,
personalized information services delivered electronically, provision of
editorially enhanced databases, tools that help scientists collaborate, and
other software research aids.
###
SPARC is a coalition of research universities and libraries supporting
increased competition in scholarly publishing. Its membership currently
numbers approximately 200 institutions and library consortia in North
America, Australia, New Zealand and Asia. SPARC Europe, a regionally
focused initiative, is being rolled out throughout 2002. SPARC is also
affiliated with major library organizations in Canada, the U.K. and
Ireland, Denmark, Australia and the USA. SPARC is located on the web at
http://www.arl.org/sparc; SPARC Europe is located on the web at
http://www.sparceurope.org.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Alison Buckholtz
Associate Enterprise Director
SPARC -- The Scholarly Publishing & Academic Resources Coalition
21 Dupont Circle, Ste. 800, Washington, DC 20036 USA
T: 202 296 2296 x115 * F: 202 872 0884 * E: <alison [at] arl.org>
http://www.arl.org/sparc http://www.sparceurope.org
http://www.arl.org/sparc/DI
http://www.createchange.org
Received on Tue May 14 2002 - 22:52:58 BST