Heartily agree. As well as individuals writing to MPs and CILIP taking up the cudgels, AUT members might like to involve their local associations. I raised at our association meeting yesterday, and gained an assurance that it will be taken up nationally at the union's Education and Development Committee.

This could become a good example of trade unions and professional bodies working together, which might clarify in practice the differences and common ground between these two classes of organisation which have so vexed us at a theoretical level in recent discussions.

Tom Roper, Information Resources Development Coordinator

Brighton & Sussex Medical School   

E-mail: [log in to unmask]

Tel: +44(0)1273 644501

Fax: +44(0)1273 644440

Mob: +44(0)7799 671321

-----Original Message-----
From: Chartered Library and Information Professionals [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Prof Bruce Royan
Sent: 10 November 2004 22:39
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Government rejects calls for push on open-access journals

OK, so the government has effectively said "open access repositories are a good idea, but we won't find any money to help set them up, nor even get funding agencies to mandate publicly funded researchers to deposit their results in them". They've also said "we don't think there's a problem with access to research publications in any case"

Ian Gibson, who chaired the Parliamentary Enquiry is incandescent, and convinced that the publisher lobby got at the Government (through the DTI).

But he is also sure that it is worthwhile lobbying your MPs etc before the debate on this in parliament.

Come on guys, if you can generate half as much enthusiasm for freeing up research information as has been demenstrated slagging off CILIP, we might just make a difference. Check out the issues, and write to your MPs.

---

From: Chartered Library and Information Professionals [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Ian Johnson
Sent: 08 November 2004 17:49
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Government rejects calls for push on open-access journals

http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/story.jsp?story=580600