[Insight-users] PLoS Biology: Open Access and Scientific Societies

[Luis Ibanez]

Open Access and Scientific Societies

by, Helen Doyle , Andy Gass , Rebecca Kennison


"This is the second in a series of three editorials that aim to address
recurring concerns about the benefits and risks associated with
open-access publishing in medicine and the biological sciences."


<http://www.plosbiology.org/plosonline/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.0020156>



"..Setting aside for the moment the question of how feasible it is for
societies to alter their journals' access policies, there is by now a
broad consensus that widespread open access to scientific publications
is good for scientists and good for science. Society members want to
maximize the impact of their work—and articles that are freely available
online are cited more frequently than those that are not (Lawrence
2001). Most societies are committed to catalyzing innovations within and
across scientific disciplines—and open-access archives of full-text
literature provide a valuable tool for sharing information globally in
order to accelerate the rate of scientific progress. Many societies
articulate in their mission statements the goal of communicating the
benefits of their members' discoveries with the public—and open-access
publishing is a direct means to accomplish this goal..."