It is recognised that there are here are two ways to provide OA:
(1) publishing articles in OA journals and
(2) publishing them in conventional journals but self-archiving them
publicly on the web as well.
One problem with route 2 that doesn't seem to have been fully addressed
is how should the PubMed or Web of Knowledge user find these open access
articles. By way of example let us assume I stumble across the
following PubMed article:
Harnad S. Ingelfinger over-ruled...
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?
cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=11191471
[published in the Lancet] {Had this article appeared in a more recent
issue - then PubMed would have linked directly to ScienceDirect and
access would be limited to subscribers']
Of course the author has self archived this article:
...but how would the PubMed user know this? Do we honestly expect users
to search PubMed and then go and search the OAIster service in the hope
that an open access version may be available.
I agree that route 2 is a way to provide open access - but at the same
time we must ensure that the major bibliographic services (PubMed, Web
of Knowledge etc) provide links to the open access version - as well as
the publisher version. Is there any strategy for addressing this?
Robert Kiley
Head of Systems Strategy - Wellcome Library.
183, Euston Road, London. NW1 2BE
Tel: 020 7611 8338; Fax: 020 7611 8726; mailto:r.kiley_at_wellcome.ac.uk
Library Web site: http://library.wellcome.ac.uk
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