Open Access: Petition to the German Parliament Thu, Nov 12. 2009
A Petition to the German Parliament (Deutscher Bundestag) for Open Access of documents in science and research has been launched by Lars Fischer, see the English version of the Petition.
It can be signed online at Signing the petition.
The Coalition for Action "Copyright for Education and Research" suggests that all the signatees of the Göttingen Declaration), the Berlin Declaration, the Budapest Open Access Initiative and the EC Open Access Petition -- as well as all other scholars in science and education -- sign the petition, see the Press Release (with its english tranlation).
E.R.Hilf
A small guide how to realize the somewhat clumsy petition signing:
1. register: call the link https://epetitionen.bundestag.de and go for the second line 'registrieren' and register. [and enter your Country at the line 'Land') as well as create your own password.
2. you get an email with your permanent Username (Benutzername) which should be the word 'Nutzer' together with a 6-decimal number.
3. you go back to the serverpage and login: [enter the Username) and the password.
4. you find the petition 'Wissenschaft und Forschung - Kostenloser Erwerb wissenschaftlicher Publikationen' by either scrolling to page two or three or by using the 'detailed search' button. I typed in: 'Kostenloser Erwerb'.
5. vote by clicking on the title and then in the fourth column you can vote by clicking on 'Petition mitzeichnen' [zeichnen means signing]
Comment by Stevan Harnad:
WHAT IS OPEN ACCESS? Free online access to all peer-reviewed research articles (2.5 million annual articles published in 25,000 peer-reviewed journals, in all fields of science, social science and humanities, worldwide) for all potential users -- researchers as well as general public.
WHY OPEN ACCESS? To maximize research uptake, usage, applications, impact, productivity and process -- in the interests of the tax-paying public that has funded it and for whose benefit the research is conducted -- by making it freely accessible online to all its intended users worldwide, and not just to those whose institutional libraries can afford a subscription to the journal in which it happened to be published.
HOW OPEN ACCESS? All universities and research institutions, and all funders of research, need to mandate that the final, peer-reviewed draft of all their research output must be deposited in an Open Access Repository (preferably Institutional, optionally Central) immediately upon acceptance for publication, making it immediately accessible online, free for all: http://www.eprints.org/openaccess/policysignup/
References:
[1] Statement of the Workgroup Open Access of the Alliance of the German Science Organisations (Allianz der Wissenschaften): Open Access: positions. processes, perspectives; (in German): Open Access: Positionen, Prozesse, Perspektiven; Arbeitsgruppe Open Access in der Allianz der deutschen Wissenschaftsorganisationen.
[2] ROARMAP (Registry of Open Access Repository Material Archiving Policies)
[3] Optimizing OA Self-Archiving Mandates: What? Where? When? Why? How?
[4] Which Green OA Mandate Is Optimal?
[5] How To Integrate University and Funder Open Access Mandates
[6] American Scientist Open Access Forum
[7] German petition takes Open Access movement by surprise; by Richard Poynder, in his Blog Open and Shut?; 13.Nov. 2009
[8] Some supporters of the ePetition.
[9] Lars Fischer homepage.
Last change: 14.Nov.2009
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#1 - Stevan Harnad said:
2009-11-12 14:20 - (Reply)
Lars Fischer's statement is vague and thereby poses some risk of having no practical effect unless it is made clear exactly what the Bundestag is being asked to do, why, and how.
Fortunately, it can be stated very clearly exactly what the petition is for, and why, and if this clarification can be coupled with the text sufficiently prominently, the outcome will be a coherent and positive one:
WHAT IS OPEN ACCESS? Free online access to all peer-reviewed research articles (2.5 million annual articles published in 25,000 peer-reviewed journals, in all fields of science, social science and humanities, worldwide).
WHY OPEN ACCESS? To ensure that research findings are accessible to all their potential users worldwide, so as to maximize research uptake, usage, applications, impact, productivity and process, by making it accessible to all its potential users worldwide, and not just to those whose institutional libraries can afford a subscription to the journal in which it happened to be published.
HOW OPEN ACCESS? All universities and research institutions, and all funders of research, need to mandate that the final, peer-reviewed draft of all their research output must be deposited in an Open Access Repository (Institutional or, optionally, Central) immediately upon acceptance for publication, making it immediately accessible online, free for all: http://www.eprints.org/openaccess/policysignup/
If these three points could be made, the petition will be precise, comprehensible, and focussed.
#2 - Stevan Harnad said:
2009-11-12 14:44 - (Reply)
Where is the English version of the petition?
Sorry, done, 12.Nov.4pm; E. Hilf
#3 - Rainer Kuhlen said:
2009-11-14 08:38 - (Reply)
As you may know, only if the petition has been signed by at least 50.000 votes (at the time being approaching the 10.000) there is a need for the Bundestag to react - usually in form of a public hearing where the main petitioner (in this case Lars Fischer) has the right so explain the petition.
There is no way to change the current petition. But there is the option for an additional non-public petition to the same subject which will be bundled with the first one (if the latter has jumped over the necessary limit).
This would allow the petitioner of the non-public petition to explain their objectives during the hearing. The Coalition for Action (Aktionsbuendnis) considers this possibility to make arguments such as the ones of Stevan Harnad and others publicly better available. But, again, 50.000 are needed!
Rainer Kuhlen
Speaker of the Coalition for Action in Germany
#4 - David Morales said:
2009-11-30 18:04 - (Reply)
Under Open Access philosophy, Redalyc aims to contribute to the editorial scientific activity produced in and about Ibero-America making available for public consultation the contents of 550 scientific journals of different knowledge areas: http://redalyc.uaemex.mx
#5 - Karine said:
2011-01-17 19:15 - (Reply)
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