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Group Urges Open Access to Taxpayer-Funded ResearchA coalition of 41 organizations—including library associations, patient and health-policy advocates, and other public-interest groups—announced August 24 the formation of the Alliance for Taxpayer Access, which will work to make taxpayer-funded medical research accessible to the public.The current system of subscription-based access to scientific research “is economically unsustainable and effectively impedes the dissemination and use of research that has been paid for with public dollars,” the group said in a press release. ATA will “urge the National Institutes of Health as well as Congress to ensure that peer-reviewed articles on taxpayer-funded research become fully accessible and available online and at no extra cost to the American public.” The group’s formation preceded a planned August 31 meeting between the NIH and public-interest groups at which the NIH would seek input on ways to improve access to publicly funded medical research. The NIH is considering a controversial recommendation—included as part of a report accompanying the 2005 appropriations bill by the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education—that advised NIH to place a complete electronic copy of any manuscript reporting work supported by NIH grants or contracts into a publicly accessible archive. While open-access proponents applauded the recommendation, “publishers feel steamrolled,” Association of American Publishers President Patricia Schroeder wrote in an August 24 letter to subcommittee chair Arlen Specter, noting that the House “held no hearings” and “established no evidentiary record” before making the recommendation. Posted August 27, 2004. |
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