Press Release: 7th January 2002

OPEN ACCESS TO RESEARCH TO BE FUNDED BY BIOMED CENTRAL'S NEW
INSTITUTIONAL MEMBERSHIP PROGRAM

BioMed Central, the publishing company committed to a policy of free
access to peer reviewed research, is introducing a membership scheme
that will move the cost of publication from individuals to their
institutions.

BioMed Central's business model is based on the dual premise that all
original research articles should be freely available and that the
imposition of subscription charges by other publishers is damaging the
communication of science. To meet the costs of publishing, BioMed
Central will charge authors $500 per paper published (waivers will be
available for those who can not afford these charges).

But to remove the burden on individual researchers, BioMed Central is
inviting institutions to join as members. Membership will allow all
research staff and students within an institution to submit an
unlimited amount of research papers to the 60 or so journals currently
published by BioMed Central (with at least 20 more to come next year).
It will also give the institution a 15% discount on any of the
paid-for products BioMed Central publishes such as Faculty of 1000
( http://www.facultyof1000.com ) and Images.MD ( http://www.images.MD ).
Furthermore, it will allow all the abstracts of relevant articles
generated at the institution, irrespective of where they were
published, to be archived on a customize page on the BioMed Central
website. The abstracts of the articles listed will be included in any
searches performed on the BioMed Central web site and be linked to the
full text (if available) on the institution's own server or proxy
server. Depending on the size of the institution, membership will cost
from $3000 to $10,000 per year.

Librarians have reacted positively to the idea of institutional
membership. They recognize that paying for publishing through a
processing charge is preferable to the increasing spiral of
subscription costs. Ken Frazier, the Director of the University of
Wisconsin-Madison Libraries, said: "The UW-Madison libraries will pay
the processing charge for our faculty and researchers. We commend you
for your important work."

According to Jan Velterop, BioMed Central's publisher, "Institutional
Membership will change the process of scientific communication,
allowing widespread full-text open access to peer-reviewed scientific
literature, by funding the publication process up-front. This will
bring about the much desired toll-free dissemination of research
results across the world."

Fees for Institutional Membership in 2002 are as follows:

Very small institution (20-500 Full Time
Equivalent staff and (post) graduate students)     $1500 per annum

Small institution (501-1500 FTE)                   $3000 per annum
Medium size institution (1501-2500 FTE)            $4500 per annum
Large institution (2501-5000 FTE)                  $6000 per annum
Very large institutions (more than 5000 FTE)  from $7500 per annum

To read more about article processing charges and BioMed Central
please visit: http://www.biomedcentral.com/info/pr-releases.asp

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BioMed Central (http://www.biomedcentral.com) is an independent online
publishing house committed to providing immediate free access to the
peer-reviewed biological and medical research it publishes. This
commitment is based on the view that open access to research is
essential to the rapid and efficient communication of science. In
addition to open-access original research, BioMed Central also
publishes reviews and other subscription-based content.

For further information on how to join The BioMed Central
Membership Scheme, contact:

Becky Fishman,
Institutional Marketing Manager,
BioMed Central Ltd,

Email: [log in to unmask]
Telephone: +44 (0)20 7323 0323
Fax: +44 (0)20 7580 1938