Back to the future- what are libraries doing about open access?
“Will libraries continue to serve as intermediaries through which researchers find open-access information, as well as that available only through subscription, and how?” CRS Report for Congress: Open Access Publishing and Citation Archives: Background and Controversy (updated October 10, 2006)
Because this blog is focused on the biomedical publishing, research, and library realm, here are a few ways biomedical libraries have been serving as as guides in identifying and educating their colleagues and faculty on open access information.
- The Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries (AAHSL) participated in the Scholarly Publishing Roundtable , a response to the Office of Science and Technology Policy’s request for a consensus statement regarding access to and preservation of federally funded research, and issued their own response to the Roundtable’s Final Report. AAHSL actually represents about 140 accredited U.S. and Canadian medical colleges and supports their academic health sciences libraries.
- University Libraries, such as the University of Florida, are appointing a Scholarly Communication officer to educate faculty and students about scholarly publication reform and Open Access (OA) activities.
- Library catalogs allow open access journal sites and links to be discovered, like this sample of the Yale University Library online catalog.
- Libraries such as the one at the University of Toronto take the lead in organizing events around Open Access Week and creating a culture of academic awareness about scholarly publishing and archiving.
How about filling up my comment box with your own examples?
