The value of open access & update to the Dramatic Growth of Open Access

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

Peter Banks wrote:

In talking with researchers at major research institutions, I 
have yet to meet a single one who felt that access to information 
was a limiting factor in research. Perhaps free access to 
information will help those in less connected locations 
--non-research colleges, remote medical practices, developing 
countries.

Indeed, if one wants to understand issues relating to lack of 
access, talk to people who lack access, not people who have it. 
This includes most of us; researchers at major research 
institutions in the world's wealthiest countries form a very 
small proportion of the world's population.

Fortunately for all of us, open access resources are continuing 
to grow dramatically.  For example, in the last quarter, OAIster 
exceed the 10 million item milestone, and added a million new 
items, and DOAJ continued to add new titles at a rate of more 
than one per calendar day.

For details, see my blogpost, The Dramatic Growth of Open Access: 
March 31, 2007 Update and Open Data Edition, at: 
http://poeticeconomics.blogspot.com/2007/03/dramatic-growth-of-open- 
access-update.html

Any opinion expressed in this e-mail is that of the author alone, 
and does not reflect the opinion or policy of BC Electronic 
Library Network or Simon Fraser University Library.

Heather Morrison, M.L.I.S.
http://poeticeconomics.blogspot.com