---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Peter Suber
Date: Apr 16, 2010 11:31 AM
[Forwarding from SPARC and the Alliance for Taxpayer Access. Also see
the ATA's online version of this call,
http://bit.ly/a2878I --Peter
Suber.]
Call to action: Tell Congress you support the Federal Research Public
Access Act
Yesterday, Representatives Doyle (D-PA), Waxman (D-CA),
Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL), Harper (R-MS), Boucher (D-VA) and
Rohrabacher (R-CA) introduced the Federal Research Public Access Act
(HR 5037), a bill that would ensure free, timely, online access to the
published results of research funded by eleven U.S. federal agencies.
All supporters of public access – universities and colleges,
researchers, libraries, campus administrators, patient advocates,
publishers, consumers, individuals, and others – are asked to ACT NOW
to support this bill. See below for actions you can take.
Now before both the House of Representatives and the Senate, FRPAA
would require those agencies with annual extramural research budgets
of $100 million or more to provide the public with online access to
research manuscripts stemming from such funding no later than six
months after publication in a peer-reviewed journal. The bill gives
individual agencies flexibility in choosing the location of the
digital repository to house this content, as long as the repositories
meet conditions for interoperability and public accessibility, and
have provisions for long-term archiving.
The bill specifically covers unclassified research funded by agencies
including: Department of Agriculture, Department of Commerce,
Department of Defense, Department of Education, Department of Energy,
Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Homeland
Security, Department of Transportation, Environmental Protection
Agency, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the
National Science Foundation.
FRPAA reflects the growing trend among funding agencies – and college
and university campuses – to leverage their investment in the conduct
of research by maximizing the dissemination of results. It follows
the successful path forged by the NIH’s Public Access Policy, as well
as by private funders like the Wellcome Trust and campuses such as
Harvard, MIT, and the University of Kansas. The bill also reflects the
Administration’s recent expression of interest in the potential
implementation of public access policies across U.S. science and
technology agencies – as indicated by the call for public comment
issued by the Office of Science and Technology Policy, which closed in
January.
Detailed information about the Federal Research Public Access Act is
available at
http://www.taxpayeraccess.org/frpaa.
Here’s how you can help support this legislation:
* Send thanks to the Bill’s sponsors, also through the ATA Action
Center at
http://www.taxpayeraccess.org/frpaa.
* Contact your representatives in Congress today and ask them to
co-sponsor H.R.5037 or S.1373. Act now through the ATA Legislative
Action Center at
http://www.taxpayeraccess.org/frpaa.
* Contact Congress now to express your organization’s support for
public access to taxpayer-funded research and for this bill. Send a
copy of your letter to sparc [at] arl [dot] org.
* Issue a public statement of support from your organization and
share it widely with members, colleagues, and the media. Send a copy
to sparc [at] arl [dot] org to be featured on the FRPAA Web site.
* Share news about this bill with friends and colleagues.
* Post the “I support taxpayer access” banner on your Web site.
See the ATA Web site at
http://www.taxpayeraccess.org/frpaa for more
ways you can support public access to publicly funded research and
this bill.
As always, thank you for your support and continued persistence in
supporting public access to publicly funded research in the United
States. Constituent voices make an unparalleled difference on Capitol
Hill.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us at any time.
Heather Joseph
Spokesperson for the Alliance and Executive Director of SPARC
Telephone: (202) 296-2296
Email: heather [at] arl [dot] org
Jennifer McLennan
Director of Programs & Operations, SPARC
Telephone: (202) 296-2296 ext. 121
Email: jennifer [at] arl [dot] org
Received on Fri Apr 16 2010 - 17:31:01 BST