What about the fund-raisers?

[Heather Morrison <heatherm@eln.bc.ca>]

Recently, there has been much discussion about the rights of taxpayers to
access the published results of research funded through taxpayer dollars.  
Which makes sense!

What I'm wondering about, though, is what about the funds raised through
volunteer efforts?  I'm not sure what the total percentage of research
monies come from this source.  Even if it is a small number, I do think
this is still very important, due to to the significance of these efforts
to the volunteers and those who support them (financially or otherwise).

Should they not receive the full benefits of open access to the research
they contribute to, both directly (through being able to access the
results themselves) and indirectly?

By indirect benefits, I am referring to the benefits that accrue to the
volunteers, their families and communities, when persons other than
themselves have open access to the literature.  For example, when health
care professionals have access to the literature, patients ultimately
benefit from the greater knowledge of the professionals who serve them.  
When research advances more rapidly due to easier access by scholars, the
volunteers and their loved ones benefit when the research results are
translated into real-world action.  When journalists can access the
scholarly literature, everyone is a potential beneficiary.  In medicine,
journalists can help alert people to early symptoms, treatable
possiblities, the dangers of quackery, not to mention easy preventive
measures for many diseases.  Journalists can also help to translate
research advances into more basic information that can be more easily
digested by those who prefer not to read the scholarly literature
themselves.  Politicians can learn more about common diseases and
potential country-wide (or even global) steps that might be taken to
advance health on a national or international basis.

This is just a brief list of the indirect benefits for all, of open
access.  To me, it is hard to comprehend just how marvelous a thing open
access will be for the world as a whole, in addition to the obvious - and
most important - benefits it brings to the research community itself.

Heather G. Morrison
Project Coordinator
BC Electronic Library Network
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Phone: 604-268-7001
Fax: 604-291-3023
Email:  heatherm@eln.bc.ca
Web: http://www.eln.bc.ca