Open access is a publishing model premised on the idea that scholarly research should be freely accessible to anyone with internet access. UC Merced has staked its claim as a member of the open access vanguard, as one of just five of American universities to have signed on to the OA2020 Expression of Interest.
“OA2020 is a controversial idea among librarians and scholars, making UC Merced among the first U.S. institutions to express interest in the initiative,” Deputy University Librarian Donald Barclay said.
But it’s an idea that UC Merced wants to explore. And many think it’s not just a matter of access, but an obligation to the public, whose tax dollars fund much of the academic research that current publishing models deny them access to.
“From the public’s point of view, it’s a question of fairness,” Barclay said. “Research is supported by tax dollars, but then we have to pay to get the research back in published form.”
This is an excerpt, read the full article in UC Merced's Newsroom.
