STM Statement on Open Access

[Ann Okerson <ann.okerson@yale.edu>]

Of possible interest.  The STM Statement is reproduced after the cover
message, below.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 6 Nov 2003 14:42:11 +0100
From: Lex Lefebvre <Lefebvre@stm.nl>

The Hague, 5 November 2003

Following the current discussions in our industry concerning the topic of
Open Access, STM issued today the attached press release: "Publishers
Reaffirm Mission to Make Research Information Widely Accessible".
The document was produced in close consultation and with the approval of the
STM executive board.

With best regards,
Lex Lefebvre
Secretary General
International Association of Scientific, Technical & Medical Publishers
(STM)
Prins Willem-Alexanderhof 5
2595 BE The Hague, The Netherlands
Tel:         +31 70 3140930
Fax:        +31 70 3140940
E-mail:     lefebvre@stm.nl
Website: www.stm-assoc.org

****

Publishers Reaffirm Mission to Make Research Information Widely Accessible

The Hague, The Netherlands, 5th November 2003 - The International
Association of Scientific, Technical and Medical Publishers (STM)
announced in a statement today that it believes that "broadening and
ensuring continuity of information access for researchers, scholars, and
practitioners is a critical mission for all publishers."  Issued on behalf
of its twelve-member Executive Board, the statement continued:

"Scientific research has never been more accessible than it is today.  In
recent years, STM publishers have been working closely with scientists,
researchers, and librarians to lead the ongoing revolution in the
dissemination of scholarly information. We have leveraged emerging
technologies and invested hundreds of millions of dollars to make more
scientific research information more accessible to more people than ever
before.  In the process, we have developed - and continue to develop -
innovative and accessible business models to broaden information access.
Recent developments such as flexible subscription licensing arrangements
customised to meet the needs of libraries and consortia; "pay-per-view"
article access at prices within reach of non-subscribing individuals; and
implementation of standards such as cross-linking protocols (such as
CrossRef) and enabling technologies (such as the digital object
identifier) have made seamless navigation and discovery possible across a
growing web of published resources.  The HINARI and AGORA initiatives are
examples of how publishers are bringing current research information
within the reach of those who need it in low-income nations worldwide."

"Scientific disciplines differ in their scholarly communication practices.
Journals differ from one another in their editorial content, features,
sales models, and how they serve the needs of their specific research
communities.  STM applauds the multiple journal business models that have
successfully emerged to serve the needs of authors and customers by
ensuring the wide and continuous dissemination of consistently
high-quality, independently validated research.  We welcome additional
publishers to our markets.  As publishers of science, we naturally look
forward to any new experiments in our field."

"Abandoning the diversity of proven publishing models in favour of a
single, untested model could have disastrous consequences for the
scientific research community.  It could seriously jeopardize the flow of
information today, as well as continuity of the archival record of
scientific progress that is so important to our society tomorrow."

"It is the competitive and well-functioning market, and not governments,
that must choose which business models and which publishers are best
equipped to stay apace of the ever-increasing demand for information
exchange."

About STM

The International Association of Scientific, Technical and Medical
Publishers STM is a global organization of over 100 scholarly and
professional publishers. STM's membership includes both commercial and
non-commercial publishers from North and South America, Asia, Australia,
and Europe. Founded in 1968, STM has its headquarters in The Hague, The
Netherlands. Its website can be found at http://www.stm-assoc.org


STM Executive Board 2003/2004
Eric Swanson (Chairman), John Wiley & Sons, USA
Peter Hendriks (Treasurer), Kluwer Academic Publishers, NL
Stella Dutton (Vice-Chair), BMJ Publishing Group, UK
Stefan von Holtzbrinck, Holtzbrinck Publishing Group, Germany
Timothy Ingoldsby, American Institute of Physics, USA
John Jarvis, John Wiley & Sons, UK
Arie Jongejan, Elsevier, NL
Arnoud de Kemp, Springer-Verlag, Germany
Ted Nardin, The McGraw-Hill Companies, USA
Mark Robertson, Blackwell Publishing, Asia, Australia
Hugo Setzer, El Manual Moderno, Mexico
Reinhold Tokar, Walter de Gruyter, Germany

For further information contact:
Lex Lefebvre
STM Secretary General
T. +31 70 3140930
lefebvre@stm.nl