The following message was distributed by SPARC to members and others after it appeared in on Library Journal Academic Newswire. It is forwarded with permission of SPARC. Marcia Tuttle, Current SERILST Moderator ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Subject: Scientists pledge support for online public library Date: Thu, 26 Oct 2000 11:37:03 -0400 From: Alison Buckholtz <alison@arl.org> Dear SPARC Members, Affiliates and Friends: We thought the article below would interest you and your science faculty members. (It is reprinted with permission from Library Journal Academic Newswire.) The original email, outlining the project, follows as well. Please forward as appropriate. Best, Alison Buckholtz SPARC-The Scholarly Publishing & Academic Resources Coalition http://www.arl.org/sparc sparc@arl.org ______________________________________________________________________ Library Journal Academic Newswire(tm) The Book Report for October 26, 2000 In This Issue I. PUBLISHING NEWS: Reports on scholarly communications * Tasini to libraries: we are not copyright maximalists * Science professors make bid to support "public library of science" * A commercial publisher responds to "public library of science" concept * Questia Media partners with Perseus Books * SPARC teams up with Project Euclid SCIENCE PROFESSORS MAKE BID TO SUPPORT "PUBLIC LIBRARY OF SCIENCE" The LJ ACADEMIC NEWSWIRE has learned that a group of prominent scientists have thrown their support behind the establishment of a freely accessible web-based public library of information in the sciences. The group is circulating a letter of intent and asking for science faculty members to sign on and show their support for "the establishment of an online public library that would provide the full contents of the published record of research and scholarly discourse in medicine and the life sciences research in a freely accessible, fully searchable, interlinked form." And according to the letter of intent, to encourage the creation of such a repository, the scientists are apparently prepared to boycott journals that do not support such an initiative by refusing to publish their work in them, serve as editors, or subscribe to them. The idea seems to follow closely the model behind PubMed Central, the National Institutes of Health-funded initiative to form a central repository of research in the life sciences. The letter currently bears the signatures of 13 prominent scientists, including PubMed Central co-founders Harold Varmus, president of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and current PubMed Central Chief David Lipman, and Stanford geneticist David Botstein. When contacted by the LJ ACADEMIC NEWSWIRE, one scientist close to the movement declined comment, saying the movement was still organizing at the grassroots level. A COMMERCIAL PUBLISHER RESPONDS TO "PUBLIC LIBRARY OF SCIENCE" CONCEPT Is a boycott of popular journals in the sciences really on the horizon? "They are certainly within their rights to do that," says Karen Hunter, senior vice president of Reed Elsevier's ScienceDirect, one of the largest commercial science databases. "But I don't think they'll find much support." Hunter sympathizes with issues of archivability and says she is currently negotiating to participate in an archiving program. Hunter is skeptical of any plan to collect research in one central, free library. "Who would fund it? Government?" she asks. "The fundraising of government is so volatile, the priorities of government shift." Hunter says that competition in science publishing, both commercial and noncommercial, is essential to innovation. "Competition is useful," she says. "It facilitates new developments." *************************************************** Project outline: > >> > Date: Fri, 20 Oct 2000 15:24:49 -0500 > >> > From: "Jonathan A. Eisen" <jeisen@tigr.org> > >> > Subject: Fwd: Journal boycott letter > >> > > >> > Apologies for the mass mailing. > >> > > >> > I am forwarding this email in the hopes that some of you will > >> > consider signing the attached letter and faxing it to Michael Eisen > >> > at U. C. Berkeley 1-786-549-0137. The letter relates to > >> > encouraging journals to provide free access to all scientific > >> > publications, an idea being pushed by many people including in > >> > particular Pat Brown at Stanford. A web site is being set up > >> > regarding this at http://www.publiclibraryofscience.org. The site > >> > lists the people who have already signed (so, if you want, you can > >> > decide if they are the type of company you want to keep) > >> > > >> > Jonathan Eisen > >> > > >> > The letter is attached as a MS Word document and appended as text > >> > below. Please forward this email to anyone who you think might be > >> > interested. > >> > > >> > > >> > ---------------------------- > >> > We support the establishment of an online public library that would > >> > provide the full contents of the published record of research and > >> > scholarly discourse in medicine and the life sciences research in a > >> > freely accessible, fully searchable, interlinked form. > >> > Establishment of this public library would vastly increase the > >> > accessibility and utility of the scientific literature, enhance > >> > scientific productivity, and catalyze integration of the disparate > >> > communities of knowledge and ideas in biomedical sciences. > >> > > >> > We recognize that the publishers of our scientific journals have a > >> > legitimate right to a fair financial return for their role in > >> > scientific communication. We believe, however, that the permanent, > >> > archival record of scientific research and ideas should neither be > >> > owned nor controlled by publishers, but should belong to the > >> > public, and should be freely available through an international > >> > online public library. > >> > > >> > To encourage the publishers of our journals to support this > >> > endeavor, we pledge that, beginning in September, 2001, we will > >> > publish in, edit or review for, and personally subscribe to, only > >> > those scholarly and scientific journals that have agreed to grant > >> > unrestricted free distribution rights to any and all original > >> > research reports that they have published, through PubMed Central > >> > and similar online public resources, within 6 months of their > >> > initial publication date. > >> > > >> > Signed: > >> > As of 10-16-2000, the following scientists have signed this > >> > letter: > >> > > >> > > >> > Robert (Buzz) Baldwin, Professor, Dept. of Biochemistry, Stanford > >> > David Botstein, Professor, Dept of Genetics, Stanford > >> > Patrick O. Brown, Associate professor, Dept. of Biochemistry, > >> > Stanford > >> > Michael Eisen, Assistant Professor, University of California, > >> > Berkeley > >> > Pehr Harbury, Assistant professor, Dept. of Biochemistry, Stanford > >> > Dan Herschlag, Associate professor, Dept. of Biochemistry, Stanford > >> > > >> > Dale Kaiser, Professor, Dept. of Biochemistry, Stanford > >> > Arthur Kornberg, Professor, Dept. of Biochemistry, Stanford > >> > David Lipman, Director, NCBI > >> > Suzanne Pfeffer, Professor, Dept. of Biochemistry, Stanford > >> > Michael Rexach, Assistant professor, Dept. of Biology, Stanford > >> > Julie Theriot, Assistant professor, Dept. of Biochemistry, Stanford > >> > > >> > Harold E. Varmus, President, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center > >> > > >> > > >> > > >> > Note: We recognize that some scientists may agree in principle > >> > with this pledge, but have practical concerns about limiting their > >> > options for publishing their research, depending on the extent of > >> > support that this pledge receives from their scientific peers. > >> > Signatures on this letter are provisional until May 1, 2001, when > >> > we intend to publish this open letter. Until that time, your > >> > signature represents an agreement in principle, and can be > >> > withdrawn. We would be grateful if you would still be willing to > >> > have your support made public, as your leadership by example will > >> > encourage others to give similar support. If you would like your > >> > support to remain strictly confidential until your commitment is > >> > definite, we will honor that request. [Note: None of the > >> > individuals listed above have asked their signatures be kept > >> > confidential]. > >> > > >> > ------------------------------------------------------- > >> > Jonathan A. Eisen, Ph.D. > >> > Assistant Investigator > >> > The Institute for Genomic Research > >> > 9712 Medical Center Drive > >> > Rockville, MD 20850 > >> > > >> > Phone: (301)-838-3507 > >> > Fax: (301)-838-0208,___o > >> > Email: jeisen@tigr.org_-\_<, > >> > Web: http://www.tigr.org/~jeisen/(*)/'(*) > >> > -------------------------------------------------------
