Forwarded on behalf of Cordula Noetzelmann
<[log in to unmask]>:
***Apologies for cross-posting***
Please find attached an announcement concerning Open Access activities
in Germany.
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DFG Project: A Nation-Wide Online Information Portal On Open Access Issues
=========================================================
Since September 2006 the German Science Foundation [Deutsche
Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG] funds the implementation of a nation-wide
online information portal on Open Access issues that is operated
cooperatively by the Universities of Bielefeld, Goettingen, Constance
and the Free University of Berlin, with support from DINI - German
Initiative for Networked Information. The platform is intended to inform
scientists, their professional societies, university administrations
and the interested public comprehensively on objectives and use of Open
Access, and support them with practical assistance on its
implementation in practice.
Open Access Publications are conceived as scientific publications that
are worldwide freely available on the Internet. The Open Access
Movement's objective is the better utilisation of this form of
publication in order to maximise the diffusion and usage of scientific
knowledge. As recent studies demonstrate [1], the reception of Open
Access publications generally is already several times higher than that
of traditional publications behind cost barriers. For individual authors
as well as their institutions, this translates into a significantly
better "visibility" within the international scientific community. The
signing of the "Berlin Declaration on open access to scientific
knowledge" [2] by numerous national and international science
organisations and funding bodies and a growing number of Universities
underlines the importance for Open Access for Science Policy in general.
A DFG survey on author's experiences with Open Access [3] showed that
open access publication opportunities are still underutilized, but found
much willingness to actively further Open Access in Germany. Therefore
the DFG, as a cosignatory of the "Berlin Declaration", like many other
national funding organisations, strongly encourages all project
investigators to publish in refereed Open Access journals or to make
available digital copies of their work on Open Access servers.
Until now Information on Open Access is largely produced in an
uncoordinated way and is mostly scattered widely throughout the
Internet, much of it is dependent upon the local personal commitment of
individuals. This fact is largely responsible for the discrepancy
between the growing international significance of Open Access on one
hand and the comparatively small publicity and little practice with
German scientists on the other hand.
The new information portal sets out to counter this development in
Germany. The offer addresses primarily scientific authors, university
administrations and scholarly societies. Current deficits in information
and use within the German Higher Education Landscape are sought to be
removed by the concise presentation of relevant information on open
access issues targeted to specific audiences. The information platform
will also concentrate on concrete recommendations for action, know how
and argumentation aids as well as the sharing of practical experience
and all sort of information materials on Open Access.
The four project partners all belong to the pioneers on the field of
Open Access in Germany. After its completion in May 2007, the online
platform will be open to all interested users and additional cooperation
partners for exchange of information and experiences. DINI - the German
Initiative for Networked Information, regards the new information
platform as a chance to better promote the relevant open access
activities of DINI. Platform development and operation are therefore
supported by DINI.
More information may be found on the website of the project
http://www.openaccess-germany.de/ or via the coordinators:
Dr. Norbert Lossau (Director, State and University Library Goettingen,
Project Leader), [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
Cordula Noetzelmann (Coordination Scientific Publishing, University of
Bielefeld), [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
Dr. Katja Mruck (Coordination e-Publishing, Open Access, Center for
Digital Systems (CeDiS) of the Free University of Berlin),
[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
Karlheinz Pappenberger (Coordination Scientific Publishing, University
of Constance), [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
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[1] (http://opcit.eprints.org/oacitation-biblio.html)
[2] (http://oa.mpg.de/openaccess-berlin/signatories.html)
[3]
(http://www.dfg.de/en/dfg_profile/facts_and_figures/statistical_reporting/open_access/index.html
--
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* Cordula Noetzelmann
* Koordination "Wissenschaftliches Publizieren"
* Fachreferentin fuer Anglistik, Allg. Literaturwissenschaft
* Universitaetsbibliothek Bielefeld
* Universitaetsstr. 25
* 33615 Bielefeld
* Tel. 0521/106-3417
* http://www.ub.uni-bielefeld.de
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