Access2Research
{{Short description|Campaign for academic journal publishing reform}}
File:Access 2 research video by SPARC.ogv in support of the campaign.]]
File:Normalized heatmap of per-capita signatures to Access2Research petition by U.S. state.png (red), lowest from Mississippi (white).]]
File:Access2Research Founders.JPG, John Wilbanks, Michael W. Carroll and Mike Rossner after meeting at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.]]
Access2Research is a campaign in the United States for academic journal publishing reform led by open access advocates Michael W. Carroll, Heather Joseph, Mike Rossner, and John Wilbanks.{{cite web |url = http://access2research.org/about |title = Access2:Research: About |publisher = Access2Research |date = 2012-04-27 |access-date = 2012-05-26 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120524034409/http://access2research.org/about |archive-date = 2012-05-24 |url-status=dead }}
On May 20, 2012, it launched a petition to the White House to "require free access over the Internet to journal articles arising from taxpayer-funded research".{{cite web |url = http://wh.gov/6TH |archive-url = http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20120523212842/https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions/%21/petition/require%2Dfree%2Daccess%2Dover%2Dinternet%2Dscientific%2Djournal%2Darticles%2Darising%2Dtaxpayer%2Dfunded%2Dresearch/wDX82FLQ?utm_source%3Dwh.gov%26utm_medium%3Dshorturl%26utm_campaign%3Dshorturl |url-status=dead |archive-date = 2012-05-23 |title = Require free access over the Internet to scientific journal articles arising from taxpayer-funded research. | The White House |publisher = Wh.gov |date = 2012-05-13 |access-date = 2012-05-26 }} The White House has committed to issue an official response to such petitions if they reach 25,000 signatures within 30 days.{{cite web|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2011/10/03/good-problem-have-raising-signature-threshold-white-house-petitions |title=A good problem to have: Raising the signature threshold for White House petitions |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170123020409/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2011/10/03/good-problem-have-raising-signature-threshold-white-house-petitions |archive-date=January 23, 2017 |date=2011-10-03 |access-date=2012-05-27 |via=National Archives |work=whitehouse.gov |url-status=live }} Access2Research reached this milestone within two weeks.{{cite web|url=http://www.researchinformation.info/news/news_story.php?news_id=957 |title=US open-access petition hits 25,000 signatures in two weeks |work=Research Information |access-date=7 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407091544/http://www.researchinformation.info/news/news_story.php?news_id=957 |archive-date=2014-04-07 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web|url=http://blogs.plos.org/blog/2012/06/04/25000-signatures-in-two-weeks-what-does-it-mean/ |title=25000 Signatures in Two Weeks: What Does It Mean? |work=PLoS Blogs Network |first=Cameron |last=Neylon |author-link=Cameron Neylon |date=4 June 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121028223404/http://blogs.plos.org/blog/2012/06/04/25000-signatures-in-two-weeks-what-does-it-mean/ |archive-date=28 October 2012 }} On February 22, 2013, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and announced an executive directive ordering all US Federal Agencies with research & development budgets over $100M to develop public access policies within twelve months.
The petition builds on previous campaigns asking scholars, publishers, funders, governments and the general public to remove paywalls to publicly funded scholarly research. It follows initiatives previously targeted at academics such as The Cost of Knowledge calling for lower prices for scholarly journals and to promote increased access to scientific information. The campaign refers to the NIH Public Access Policy{{cite web |url=http://publicaccess.nih.gov/policy.htm |title=NIH Public Access Policy Details |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111101151816/http://publicaccess.nih.gov/policy.htm |archive-date=2011-11-01 |publisher=nih.gov |access-date=2012-05-27 |url-status=dead }} as an example of a mandate that should be expanded to all federally funded research.{{cite news |last = Taylor |first = Mike |title = US petition could tip the scales in favour of open access publishing |url = https://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2012/may/22/us-petition-open-access-publishing |access-date = 25 May 2012 |newspaper = The Guardian |date = 22 May 2012 }}{{cite news |last = Howard |first = Jennifer |title = Petition urges White House to Require public access to federally financed research |url = http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/petition-urges-white-house-to-require-public-access-to-federally-financed-research/36409 |access-date = 25 May 2012 |newspaper = Chronicle of Higher Education |date = 23 May 2012 }}{{cite news |last = Arbesman |first = Samuel |newspaper = Wired |url = https://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/05/a-petition-for-free-online-access-of-taxpayer-funded-research/ |title = A Petition for Free Online Access of Taxpayer-funded Research |access-date = 25 May 2012 |date = 23 May 2012 }}{{cite news |last = Poynder |first = Richard |title = Open Access: The People's Petition |url = http://poynder.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/open-access-peoples-petition.html |access-date = 27 May 2012 |publisher = Open & Shut? |date = 25 May 2012 }}
Endorsements
The campaign's outreach was supported on the first day of its launch by Creative Commons,{{cite web |url = https://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/32727 |title = Sign the U.S. Petition to Support Public Access to Publicly Funded Scientific Research |publisher = Creative Commons |date = 20 May 2012 |access-date = 2012-05-26 }} the Public Library of Science,{{cite web |url = http://www.plos.org/tell-the-white-house-to-expand-open-access-to-federally-funded-research/ |title = Tell the White House to Expand Open Access to Federally Funded Research |publisher = Public Library of Science |date = 20 May 2012 |access-date = 2012-05-26 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120620022320/http://www.plos.org/tell-the-white-house-to-expand-open-access-to-federally-funded-research/ |archive-date = 20 June 2012 |url-status = dead }} the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition,{{cite web|url=http://www.arl.org/sparc/media/blog/Sign_White_House_Petition_Open_Access_to_Research.shtml |title=Sign the White House Petition on Open Access to Research Today! |publisher=SPARC |access-date=2012-05-26 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120702151316/http://www.arl.org/sparc/media/blog/Sign_White_House_Petition_Open_Access_to_Research.shtml |archive-date=2012-07-02 }} RockHealth,{{cite web |url = http://rockhealth.com/2012/05/join-access2research-free-taxpayer-funded-research/ |title = Join Access2Research and Free Taxpayer-Funded Research |publisher = RockHealth |date = 20 May 2012 |access-date = 2012-05-26 |archive-date = 2015-04-18 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150418150502/http://rockhealth.com/2012/05/join-access2research-free-taxpayer-funded-research/ |url-status = dead }} Sage Bionetworks,{{cite web |url = http://sagebase.org/ |title = Sage Bionetworks |publisher = Sagebase.org |date = 2012-04-18 |access-date = 2012-05-26 }} The Cost of Knowledge,{{cite web |url = http://thecostofknowledge.com |title = The Cost of Knowledge |publisher = The Cost of Knowledge |date = 2012-01-21 |access-date = 2012-05-26 }} the Harvard Open Access Project,{{cite web |url = http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/hoap |title = Harvard Open Access Project |publisher = Cyber.law.harvard.edu |access-date = 2012-05-26 }} the Open Knowledge Foundation,{{cite web |url = http://blog.okfn.org/2012/05/21/petition-the-white-house-to-open-up-publicly-funded-research/ |title = Petition the White House to Open Up Publicly Funded Research | Open Knowledge Foundation Blog |publisher = Open Knowledge Foundation |date = 2012-05-21 |access-date = 2012-05-26 }} the Open Science Federation,{{cite web |url = http://opensciencefederation.com/ |title = Open Access Federation to open science |publisher = Open Science Federation |access-date = 2012-05-26 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120618210201/http://opensciencefederation.com/ |archive-date = 2012-06-18 |url-status = dead }} PatientsLikeMe{{cite web |url = http://blog.patientslikeme.com/2012/05/23/free-up-research-on-our-way-to-25000-signatures/ |title = Free Up Research! On Our Way to 25,000 Signatures |date = 23 May 2012 |publisher = blog.patientslikeme.com |access-date = 2012-05-26 }} and Lybba.{{cite web |url = http://www.lybba.org/blog/dont-pay-twice-for-biomedical-research/ |title = Don't pay twice for biomedical research |publisher = Lybba |date = 20 May 2012 |access-date = 2012-05-26 }}
It has been publicly endorsed by several other organizations, including the Alliance for Taxpayer Access,{{cite web|url=http://www.taxpayeraccess.org/issues/frpaa/Sign_White_House_Petition_Open_Access_to_Research_Today.shtml |title=Sign the White House Petition on Open Access to Research Today! (Alliance for Taxpayer Access) |publisher=Taxpayeraccess.org |date=2012-05-21 |access-date=2012-05-26 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130112215310/http://www.taxpayeraccess.org/issues/frpaa/Sign_White_House_Petition_Open_Access_to_Research_Today.shtml |archive-date=2013-01-12 }} the Association of College and Research Libraries,{{cite web |url = http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2012/05/legislation/acrl-urges-librarians-to-sign-research-access-petition/ |title = ACRL Urges Librarians to Sign Research Access Petition |publisher = Lj.libraryjournal.com |date = 2012-05-22 |access-date = 2012-05-26 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120525095957/http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2012/05/legislation/acrl-urges-librarians-to-sign-research-access-petition/ |archive-date = May 25, 2012 |url-status=dead }} the Association of Research Libraries,{{cite web |url = http://www.arl.org/pp/access/accessfunded/wh-petition-may2012.shtml |title = Call to Action: Sign the White House Petition for Public Access to Federally Funded Research |publisher = Association of Research Libraries |access-date = 2012-05-26 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121019091823/http://www.arl.org/pp/access/accessfunded/wh-petition-may2012.shtml |archive-date = 2012-10-19 |url-status=dead }} Arizona State University Libraries,{{cite web |url = http://lib.asu.edu/librarychannel/2012/05/21/petition/ |title = Increasing Public Access to Federally Funded Research | The Library Channel |publisher = Lib.asu.edu |date = 2012-05-21 |access-date = 2012-05-26 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120610183204/http://lib.asu.edu/librarychannel/2012/05/21/petition/ |archive-date = 2012-06-10 |url-status=dead }} BioSharing,{{cite web|first=Susanna-A |last=Sansone |url=http://blog.biosharing.org/2012/05/open-access-petition-white-houses-we.html |title=BioSharing: Open access petition - White House's "We the People" |publisher=Blog.biosharing.org |date=2012-05-21 |access-date=2012-05-26 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150504182707/http://blog.biosharing.org/2012/05/open-access-petition-white-houses-we.html |archive-date=2015-05-04 }} The Center for Scholarly Communication and Digital Curation at Northwestern University,{{cite web|url=http://cscdc.northwestern.edu/blog/?p=546 |title=White House Petition on Open Access | Center for Scholarly Communication & Digital Curation |publisher=Cscdc.northwestern.edu |date=2012-05-21 |access-date=2012-05-26 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130201111900/http://cscdc.northwestern.edu/blog/?p=546 |archive-date=2013-02-01 }} figshare,{{cite web |url = http://figshare.com/blog/OAMonday%20-%20A%20call%20to%20action/28 |title = #OAMonday - A call to action |publisher = Figshare.com |date = 2012-05-21 |access-date = 2012-05-26 }} Genetic Alliance,{{cite web |url = http://www.geneticalliance.org |title = Advocacy, Education & Empowerment |publisher = Genetic Alliance |date = 2012-04-17 |access-date = 2012-05-26 }} InTechWeb,{{cite web |url = http://intechweb.wordpress.com/2012/05/22/to-know-the-importance-of-providing-free-access-to-taxpayer-funded-research/ |title = To know the importance of providing free access to taxpayer-funded research | InTechWeb Blog |publisher = Intechweb.wordpress.com |date = 2012-05-22 |access-date = 2012-05-26 }} Mendeley{{cite web |url = http://blog.mendeley.com/open-access/support-free-access-to-scientific-journal-articles-arising-from-taxpayer-funded-research-oamonday/ |title = Support free access to scientific journal articles arising from taxpayer-funded research. #OAMonday | Mendeley Blog |publisher = Blog.mendeley.com |date = 2012-05-21 |access-date = 2012-05-26 }} and the Wikimedia Foundation.{{cite web |url = http://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/05/25/wikimedia-foundation-endorses-mandates-for-free-access-to-publicly-funded-research/ |title = Wikimedia Foundation endorses mandates for free access to publicly funded research — Wikimedia blog |date = 25 May 2012 |publisher = Blog.wikimedia.org |access-date = 2012-05-26 }}
Criticism
The petition has been criticized by a spokesperson for the Association of American Publishers who said they "oppose government mandates on research publications",{{Cite journal | last1 = Corbyn | first1 = Zoë | title = White House petitioned to make research free to access | journal = Nature | year = 2012 | doi = 10.1038/nature.2012.10723 | s2cid = 167402674 | url = http://www.nature.com/news/white-house-petitioned-to-make-research-free-to-access-1.10723}} whereas Public Library of Science co-founder Michael Eisen referred to the petition as a "compromise" that does not go far enough, pointing out that the NIH policy allows for delayed open access.
See also
References
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External links
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- [https://web.archive.org/web/20150909215222/http://okfnpad.org/OAMonday Etherpad list] of other organizational supporters of the petition
- Archived copy of official site: {{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130523115526/http://www.access2research.org/ |url=http://www.access2research.org |archive-date=2013-05-23 |url-status=dead |title=Access2research.org |access-date=2018-10-01 }}
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