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**Apologies for cross-posting** Request for signatures for the petition to the EC to fund an EU provision to The Cochrane Library ------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- Dear Colleagues Please find below a message asking you to consider signing the above petition. If this lists accept attachments, there is a leaflet attached which you may like to use to further disseminate the message. With thanks and best wishes Carol **************************************** Carol Lefebvre Senior Information Specialist UK Cochrane Centre National Institute for Health Research Summertown Pavilion Middle Way Oxford OX2 7LG For information on the Cochrane Collaboration, visit the Collaboration's website, at www.cochrane.org. DISCLAIMER: Recipients should be aware that all E-mails received and sent by The UK Cochrane Centre are subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and therefore may be disclosed to a third party. The information contained in this message or any of its attachments may be privileged and confidential and intended for the exclusive use of the intended recipient. The views expressed may not be official policy but the personal views of the originator. If you are not the intended recipient any disclosure, reproduction, distribution, other dissemination or use of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you received this message in error please return it to the originator. The Anti-Virus software used by The UK Cochrane Centre is regularly updated in an effort to minimise the possibility of viruses infecting our systems. However, you should be aware that there is no absolute guarantee that any files attached to this e-mail are virus free. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Petition to the European Commission to fund an EU provision to The Cochrane Library As you may know, an online petition has been set up to encourage the European Commission to take out an EU-wide subscription to The Cochrane Library. The closing date for signatures to this petition is only a few weeks away and, if you have not already done so, I would like to invite you to go online and sign the petition at http://cochrane.epetitions.net/. Doing so should have benefits for everyone in Europe, including those of us in the UK and Ireland. It should also send a strong signal to other parts of the world about the importance of The Cochrane Library. Increasing access to The Cochrane Library, now widely recognised as the most comprehensive source of high quality knowledge in health care, should help improve the quality of hundreds of millions of healthcare decisions taken each year about the health care of the hundreds of millions of people in Europe. We have been fortunate to have free at the point of use, one click access to The Cochrane Library for a few years in the UK and Ireland. However, there is no guarantee that the contracts for these subscriptions will continue. By signing the petition, you will add your name to the call to extend this access to people in many other countries as well as making access here more sustainable. In international terms, EU wide access will build on recent initiatives, such as the national provision throughout India and the opening up of The Cochrane Library to the poorest countries of the world in 2007. One of the challenges facing The Cochrane Collaboration is trying to ensure that people have access to Cochrane reviews, but this is so much less than the challenges often faced by the people trying to take decisions about health care. Subscriptions to The Cochrane Library that "hide" behind user names and passwords put unnecessary barriers in the way. An EU wide subscription would demolish these barriers, since the computers hosting The Cochrane Library would recognise automatically the national location of the user's computer and allow them direct access. Allowing everyone in Europe - not just those lucky enough to have a personal or institutional subscription - to get inside The Cochrane Library will help ensure that the knowledge in Cochrane reviews is available to all the people who need it: everyone taking decisions about health care. Mike Clarke Director, UK Cochrane Centre