In case you missed it, the U.K. government has announced its plans to make publicly funded research freely available online. A portal called Gateway To Research, which will provide links to published studies and related data, is currently being developed.
paidContent's Robert Andrews reports today:
The news will prove unpopular with academic publishers, which license and peer-review researchers’ work and charge libraries to make it available.
“As taxpayers put their money towards intellectual enquiry, they cannot be barred from then accessing it,” science minister David Willetts said in a speech to the Publishers Association on Wednesday (transcript).
“They should not be kept outside with their noses pressed to the window – whilst, inside, the academic community produces research in an exclusive space.”
The Guardian also ran an interesting piece earlier this week on Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales' role in the government's endeavor.
