Open access: getting more & more support incl. from #UCDavis

Everyone interested in science should take a look at the press release from the "Alliance for Taxpayer Access." The release discusses how "Major research institution leaders support legislation to ensure public access to publicly funded research". I am quoting much of the release here because I think it is very valuable:

The provosts and presidents of 27 major private and public research institutions have voiced their support for the Federal Research Public Access Act in an “Open Letter to the Higher Education Community,” released Friday by the Harvard University Provost. The Act, first introduced in the Senate last year, was introduced in the House of Representatives on April 15. The letter signals expanded support for public access to publicly funded research among the largest research institutions in the U.S.

The letter reads, in part:

“As scholars and university administrators, we are acutely aware that the present system of scholarly communication does not always serve the best interests of our institutions or the general public. Scholarly publishers, academic libraries, university leaders, and scholars themselves must engage in an ongoing dialogue about the means of scholarly production and distribution. This dialogue must acknowledge both our competing interests and our common goals. The passage of FRPAA will be an important step in catalyzing that dialogue, but it is not the last one that we will need to take.

For the full letter see “The Open Letter to the Higher Education Community” is available at http://osc.hul.harvard.edu/docs/FRPAA-open-letter-2010.php.

I am very very happy to note that UC Davis is one of the signatories (represented by Provost Enrique Lavernia).  This is a good change of pace as one of our previous vice-provosts Barbara Horwitz was an extreme anti-open access advocate.

And if you want your institution to be added to the list of supporters, talk to your administrators and get them to register their support here.  Seems to me that many should want to get on board.

Hat tip to Michael Rogawski from the UC Davis Department of Neurology for pointing this out.