Open Access journals and Research Funding
Jan Velterop 22 Mar 2004 11:40 UTC
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Press Release
22 March 2004
BioMed Central explodes Open Access myths
Open Access is good news for UK research funding
"A switch to Open Access would not negatively impact research funding,"
BioMed Central declared today. The Open Access publisher issued a strong
rebuttal of arguments that have been submitted by opponents of Open Access
to the ongoing UK House of Commons Select Committee inquiry into scientific
publishing.
In (Mis)Leading Open Access Myths
<http://www.biomedcentral.com/openaccess/inquiry/myths.pdf>, a statement
released today, BioMed Central counters claims that Open Access publishing
would cut into research funding, asserting:
"The vastly increased access to research that is delivered by Open Access
will greatly increase the effectiveness of the research money that is
spent."
The statement continues:
"Open Access publishers are leading the way in using web technology to
reduce costs further, so the cost of. Open Access publishing to the
scientific community will be significantly less than the cost of the system
that it replaces."
Open Access publishing, which makes all original research articles freely
available to anyone, has been a major focus of the Government inquiry.
Today's statement from BioMed Central responds to each of the major
"anti-Open Access" arguments made during the course of the inquiry so far.
"We felt it was important, at this stage when many people are hearing about
Open Access for the first time, to dispel some of these myths," says Jan
Velterop, BioMed Central's Publisher.
Other myths dispelled in the document include: "transferring copyright to a
publisher protects scientific integrity"; "UK researchers already have all
the access they need"; "industry will benefit from Open Access at the
expense of research institutes"; and "the public would be confused if they
had access to medical research".
The BioMed Central statement appears on a new web page
<http://www.biomedcentral.com/openaccess/inquiry/>, also launched today,
which brings together links to all the publicly accessible evidence that has
been submitted to the Select Committee, together with the uncorrected
transcripts of the oral evidence sessions. This web page will be continually
updated as the inquiry proceeds, providing a central resource for
information relating to the inquiry.
The site includes links to evidence from both Open Access's supporters and
its detractors. "We want people to read all of the arguments about Open
Access - both for and against," says BioMed Central Publisher Jan Velterop.
"We firmly believe that we have convincing arguments to counter the
objections to Open Access. We want to have an open debate."
END
The BioMed Central statement is available at:
http://www.biomedcentral.com/openaccess/inquiry/myths.pdf
The BioMed Central inquiry website is available at:
http://www.biomedcentral.com/openaccess/inquiry/
For more information, please contact Grace Baynes. press@biomedcentral.com
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7631 9988
About BioMed Central:
BioMed Central (www.biomedcentral.com) is an independent online publishing
house committed to providing immediate free access to the peer-reviewed
biological and medical research it publishes. This commitment is based on
the view that open access to research is essential to the rapid and
efficient communication of science. In addition to open-access original
research, BioMed Central also publishes reviews and other subscription-based
content.
Grace Baynes
Marketing Communications Manager
BioMed Central
Middlesex House
34-42 Cleveland Street
London W1T 4LB
T: +44 (0)20 7631 9988
F: +44 (0)20 7631 9926
http://www.biomedcentral.com/
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