Open letter supports US legislation to ensure free access to publicly funded research

The Alliance for Taxpayer Access (ATA) announced that the provosts and presidents of 27 research institutions in the US have voiced their support for the Federal Research Public Access Act (FRPAA) via the 'Open Letter to the Higher Education Community' released last week by the Harvard University Provost.

It is seen to signal expanded support for public access to publcly funded research among the largest research institutions in the US. The letter states that scholarly publishers, academic libraries, university leaders and scholars must engage in an ongoing dialogue about the means of scholarly production and distribution. The dialogue must acknowledge both their competing interests and common goals, it points out, adding that the passage of FRPAA will catalyse that dialogue.

Thu, 6th May 2010