Here (with thanks to Colin Steele for the link) are highlights from
the Scottish Science Information Strategy Working Group's
[Open Access] Declaration (Draft)
http://scurl.ac.uk/WG/SSISWGOA/declaration.htm
We believe that the interests of Scotland ... will be best served by the rapid
adoption of open access.
There are two main routes to achieving open access, and we wish to register our
support for both...[i] open access journals [where costs are] covered by author
fees rather than subscriptions... [and] [ii]'self-archiving', where authors
deposit electronic versions of their articles in an institutional, or
subject-based, repository.
There is growing evidence to suggest that open access increases the reach and
impact of research. More people can and do view and read open access articles,
and there are indications that these articles are cited more frequently and
earlier than is the case for articles not available in this way [7].
In the light of these developments, and recognising the huge potential gains to
Scotland in terms of impact, comparative advantage, and return on public
investment if open access to our research can be established quickly...
Action: Research funders
Require as a condition of grant that publications resulting from funding are
available on open access, either by means of self-archiving or through
publication in an open access journal.
Allocate funds for author fees for publication within research grants.
Universities/research institutions
Set up institutional repositories, and/or liaise with other organisations to
establish a joint repository.
Encourage, and in due course mandate, researchers to deposit copies of their
outputs (articles, reports, conference papers, etc) in an institutional or
co-operative repository.
Take a leading role by working with other national governments in promoting
open access.
[7] See, for example, Hitchcock, S. et al 'The impact of OAI-based search on
access to research journal papers', Serials Vol 16, No 3, November 2003,
255-260 [
http://opcit.eprints.org/serials-short/serials11.html]
Received on Mon Aug 16 2004 - 03:49:42 BST