New England University Presidents Support Bill for Public Access

The Presidents of six public universities in New England have written a letter supporting the proposed Federal Research Public Access Act. This act (FRPAA), if passed, "would require that 11 U.S. government agencies with annual extramural research expenditures over $100 million make manuscripts of journal articles stemming from research funded by that agency publicly available via the Internet. The manuscripts will be maintained and preserved in a digital archive maintained by the agency or in another suitable repository that permits free public access, interoperability, and long-term preservation. Each manuscript will be freely available to users without charge within six months after it has been published in a peer-reviewed journal." The six universities are: U. of Connecticut, U. of Maine, U. of Massachusetts – Amherst, U. of New Hampshire, U. of Rhode Island, and U. of Vermont.

Excerpt from letter:

. . . . Dissemination of results is an essential component of the land-grant tradition of research and of our investment in science. We share your concern that far too often the results of research funded by the U.S. government are not broadly available to researchers, scientists, and members of the public. In addition to ensuring that this research is made available quickly, it is also critical that the published information remain broadly available for future use. We are pleased to see that your bill is designed to support both early, as well as long-term, access to scientific research results. . . .