Web library to offer science research data
Scientific research belongs to the public, not the publishers.
That’s the philosophy of an advocacy group that includes two Nobel Laureates – Harold Varmus (1989) and Richard J. Roberts (1993) – and several other research scientists.
And it’s the philosophy the group wants to use in its plans for a future project.
The group is proposing the creation of the Public Library of Science, an online public library.
“Establishment of the Public Library of Science would provide public access to the full contents of the published record of research and scholarly discourse, in the medical and life science fields, after six months of publication,” said John Elsweiler, interim library director at Utah State University.
He said the PLS would have a number of benefits.
“Such access would be freely accessible, fully searchable and interlinked,” he said.
PLS encourages scholars to sign on and support the proposal, he said.
The group is asking scholars to help encourage the publishers of scholarly journals to support this endeavor by pledging to join a boycott.
Beginning in September, 2001, pledgers will refuse to publish in, edit or review for or personally subscribe to scholarly and scientific journals that won’t grant unrestricted free distribution rights to all original research reports they’ve published.
The group hopes the journals will distribute articles through PubMed Central and similar online public resources within six months of their publication dates.
Elsweiler said the PLS is a unique idea – and one that wasn’t necessarily easy for its founders.
“This is a brave attempt by scientists to shift control of scholarly publication back to the scholars,” he said.
The full PLS proposal statement, as well as additional information on the idea, can be found at the PLS’ Web site, www.publiclibraryofscience.org.