AAP-PSP Statement - Cornyn Bill

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

Of possible interest.
_________________________________________

NEWS RELEASE

Media Contacts:
Barbara Meredith
bmeredith@publishers.org

Scholarly Publishers Oppose Senate Bill Unwarranted measure would 
have severe consequences for publishers, scientific societies, 
researchers, and U.S. taxpayers

New York, May 9, 2006 - Professional and scholarly publishers 
firmly oppose S.2695, the "Federal Research Public Access Act of 
2006" introduced by Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Sen. Joseph 
Lieberman (D-CT). The proposed legislation would require the 
majority of recipients of U.S. federal research agency funds to 
make their findings free within six months of publication. 
Publishers argue that the legislation, if passed, will seriously 
jeopardize the integrity of the scientific publishing process, 
and is a duplicative effort that places an unwarranted burden on 
research investigators.

According to the publishers, the provisions of S.2695 threaten to 
undermine the essential value of peer review by removing the 
publishers' incentive and ability to sustain investments in a 
range of scientific, technical, and medical publishing 
activities. The proposed legislation comes at a time when 
increased public access to government-funded research is already 
occurring in a voluntary and highly effective manner through a 
variety of publisher-initiated mechanisms and cooperative 
approaches.

"Full public access to scientific articles based on government 
funding has always been central to our mission.  Competition 
demands it and timely access to quality peer-reviewed journals is 
fundamental to the scientific process," said Dr. Brian D. 
Crawford, chairman of the Professional Scholarly Publishing 
Division of the Association of American Publishers (AAP-PSP), and 
a Senior Vice President with the American Chemical Society. 
Americans have easy access to scientific and medical literature 
through public libraries, state universities, existing 
private-sector online database, as well as through their 
professional, academic, or business affiliations, low-cost online 
individual article sales, and innovative health literacy 
initiatives such as patientINFORM.

"The Cornyn-Lieberman bill would create unnecessary costs for 
taxpayers, place an unwarranted burden on research investigators, 
and expropriate the value-added investments made by scientific 
publishers-many of them not-for-profit associations who depend on 
publishing income to support pursuit of their scholarly missions, 
including education and outreach for the next generation of U.S. 
scientists," continued Dr. Crawford. "If enacted, S.2695 could 
well have the unintended consequence of compromising or 
destroying the independent system of peer review that ensures the 
integrity of the very research the U.S. Government is trying to 
support and disseminate."

Dr. Crawford explained that publishers invest hundreds of 
millions of dollars each year in publishing and disseminating 
peer-reviewed journals. These investments ensure the quality of 
U.S. taxpayer-supported scientific research by subjecting all 
articles to a rigorous technical review by experts in specialized 
fields prior to publication and pay for the development of 
technological innovations that enable broad web dissemination. 
"Mandating that journal articles be made freely available on 
government websites so soon after their publication will be a 
powerful disincentive for publishers to continue these 
substantial investments," explained Dr. Crawford.  He said 
publishers are concerned that S.2695 would result in a 
significant loss of revenue from subscriptions, licensing, and 
individual article sales, thereby making it difficult for them to 
sustain and recoup the investments they make in support of 
scientific communication.

The proposed bill was introduced on the first anniversary of the 
National Institutes of Health's (NIH) adoption of its Public 
Access policy, which encourages the posting of journal articles 
based on NIH-funded research within 12 months of publication on 
its existing PubMedCentral database -- a policy that gained 
PSP/AAP member publisher support and yet remains in its early 
stages of government-led implementation.  A departure from the 
NIH's voluntary approach, the Cornyn/Lieberman bill would mandate 
that 11 federal agencies create new systems and data repositories 
to enforce internet posting of government funded research within 
six months of publication.  As the NIH's implementation of the 
policy has not yet progressed to the point where its impact can 
be assessed, publishers view the introduction of the 
Cornyn-Lieberman proposal as premature.

"No evidentiary record exists, and no impact studies have been 
conducted, to document the long-term cost to tax payers of 
government agencies developing yet another system to promote 
public access.  Moreover, no consideration has been given to what 
the impact of this government mandate will be on publishers and 
scholarly societies ability to maintain their broad base of 
library and other customers worldwide and invest in independent 
peer review systems." said Allan Adler, the Association of 
American Publishers' Vice President for Legal and Government 
Affairs.  He cautioned, "Responsible major U.S. government policy 
revisions must be based on a solid, researched understanding of 
the long-range impact of any policy changes.  This perspective is 
conspicuously absent from the proposed legislation, which would 
cause severe harm to the publishing community, scientific 
societies, and taxpayers."

Mr. Adler said that publishers and scholarly societies urge that 
an independent study be conducted to measure the potential impact 
that any changes to the existing NIH policy or the adoption of 
the proposed Cornyn-Lieberman legislation would have on 
scientific quality, the peer review process, and the viability of 
numerous journals and societies--as well as the additional costs 
that would need to be shouldered by taxpayers.

About the Association of American Publishers

(AAP)The Association of American Publishers is the national trade 
association of the U.S. book publishing industry. AAP's 
approximately 300 members include most of the major commercial 
book publishers in the United States, as well as smaller and 
non-profit publishers, university presses and scholarly 
societies. The protection of intellectual property rights in all 
media, the defense of intellectual freedom and the promotion of 
reading and literacy are among the Association's primary 
concerns.# # #

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