Re: Press Release: NHS ENGLAND EXTEND BIOMED CENTRAL MEMBERSHIP TO 2008

["Anthony Watkinson" <anthony.watkinson@btopenworld.com>]

The recent spate of BMC press releases are remarkably opaque. Percentages
in this case are pointless if we do not know the numbers involved. Can we
see these numbers? Come back Jan Velterop.

Anthony Watkinson

----- Original Message -----
From: "Grace Baynes" <Grace@biomedcentral.com>
To: <liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu>
Sent: Friday, November 11, 2005 2:44 AM
Subject: Press Release: NHS ENGLAND EXTEND BIOMED CENTRAL MEMBERSHIP TO 2008

> ** Apologies for cross-posting**
>
> Press Release:  Thursday 10 November
>
> NHS ENGLAND EXTEND BIOMED CENTRAL MEMBERSHIP TO 2008
>
> BioMed Central is pleased to announce that NHS England have renewed
> their BioMed Central membership agreement until March 2008. Under the
> renewed membership agreement all 1.4 million NHS England staff can
> continue to publish their work in BioMed Central's growing number of
> open access journals without incurring a direct article processing
> charge.  All the research content in BioMed Central's journals is freely
> available online immediately on publication.
>
> News of the NHS England renewal comes at a key time for open access in
> the UK. In a study "How accessible is NHS-funded research to the general
> public and to the NHS's own researchers?" it was found that less than
> 30% of NHS-funded resulting research articles are accessible in full
> text to the general public and only 40% are immediately accessible to
> NHS staff at the hospital studied.1 In the House of Commons Science &
> Technology Select Committee's report 'Scientific Publications: Free for
> all2', the Committee concludes that changes in scientific publishing are
> "necessary as a matter of urgency" and everyone should have free, open
> access to UK research findings. They urge the UK Government and funding
> organisations to "act as a proponent for change" and "lead by example".
> NHS England's decision, to fund open access publication in BioMed
> Central's journals for all NHS England staff for a further two years,
> provides critical support for the growth of open access in the UK.
>
> NHS England first signed up for BioMed Central membership in April 2003,
> and since then there has been a huge increase in support and usage from
> researchers in NHS England. Submissions to BioMed Central's journals by
> NHS staff so far in 2005 are almost six times the number submitted in
> 2003. Between 2004 and 2005 (to date), publication in BioMed Central's
> journals by NHS staff increased by 51%. Downloads of BioMed Central
> journal articles by the NHS England community have increased five-fold
> in the same time period. These results demonstrate that the NHS England
> membership has had a huge impact on the awareness of open access
> publishing in this short time period.
>
> Founded in 1948, the National Health Service is the largest health
> organisation in Europe. As well as providing free healthcare for the
> British public, the NHS also has a commitment to invest in developing
> future treatments and expanding medical knowledge.  Ben Toth, Programme
> Director, National Library for Health, explains why NHS England made the
> decision to renew:
>
> "The principal and practice of open access is good for the 1.4 million
> staff and 56 million customers of the NHS in England. It promotes the
> full disclosure of the results of clinical trials and promotes the free
> flow of clinical research. It also provides excellent value for money."

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