eForum on "OPEN ACCESS to Scholarly Publications: A model for enhanced knowledge management?"

["Vikas Nath" <vikas.nath@undp.org>]

Dear Colleagues at LibLicense,

This is my first posting to this list. I share with you the information of
an upcoming virtual event relating to "Open-Access" (including open access
archiving) of scholarly publications which may be of interest to several
members on this list.

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We invite you to participate in the upcoming eForum on "OPEN ACCESS TO
SCHOLARLY PUBLICATIONS: A MODEL FOR ENHANCED KNOWLEDGE MANGEMENT?"  
hosted by the global public goods Network (gpgNet):
 
http://www.gpgnet.net/topic08.php

The eForum will run from 20 September through 4 October 2004.

To subscribe to this forum, send a blank email to: 
subscribe-gpgnet-oa@groups.undp.org  or, go to: 
http://groups.undp.org/read/all_forums/subscribe?name=3Dgpgnet-oa

There exists a rapidly expanding stock of scientific knowledge. Yet,
access to this pool of knowledge is often difficult. A primary reason for
this is the relatively high price of scholarly journals, their printed and
their web-based versions. This situation, it can be argued is both
inequitable and inefficient.

Initiatives have been undertaken to demonstrate that scientific knowledge
need not necessarily be published in forms that make access expensive - or
even impossible. It could be provided free of charge - through open access
to it - without detrimental effect on scientific knowledge production and
preserving the peer-review process that is key to validate scientific
results.

With open access, fees to meet the publishing costs - when required - are
paid up front when articles are accepted by a journal, rather than by the
readers. Access to the journal is then provided for free.

Today, about 5% of academic publishing follows the open-access model. 
But the model is quickly gaining ground, including among both for-profit 
(BioMedCentral -BMC) and not-for-profit (Public Library of Science PloS) 
publishers.

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The key points suggested for the debate are:

1. What are the main pros and cons of open-access scholarly publishing?

2. Thinking in particular of scholars in developing countries (and the
fact that research grants may not be as easily available for them than for
industrial-country scholars), could they face a new disadvantage?  What
sources will be available to pay these fees when authors cannot get their
funder or employer to pay them? Will all open-access journals be able to
waive processing fees in cases of economic hardship, as PLoS and BMC do?
Should the international aid community maintain a fund/facility to help
meet these costs?

3. Is the open-access model of publishing more likely to be successful in
some than in other fields? What would determine the likely success?

4. Could the open-access model of knowledge management be applied beyond
scholarly academic publishing?

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To aid debate on the topic, read a detailed overview of how open access to
scholarly publications works by Peter Suber, Open Access Project Director
at Public Knowledge, Washington, D.C, available at:
http://www.earlham.edu/%7Epeters/fos/overview.htm

Also read how the Budapest Open Access Initiative defines "Open Access"  
at http://www.soros.org/openaccess

Join us for this debate and share with us - and the global public - your 
observations on this topic.

Inge Kaul
Director
Office of Development Studies

Vikas Nath
Manager
global public goods Network (gpgNet) Forum

United Nations Development Programme
336 East 45 Street
New York NY 10017 USA
Email: info@gpgnet.net
URL: http://www.gpgNet.net

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