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New way to browse and search arXiv
by arun＠mssrf.res.in 08 Mar '06

08 Mar '06

For the attention of all physicists. Please spread the word among physicists, astronomers, mathematicians, etc. Thanks. Arun ---- New way to browse and search arXiv Xstructure is a new way to browse and search arXiv. (Thanks to Richard Akerman.) >From the site: Among the features of this service are: [1] Automated generation of hierarchical classification scheme for the papers. The scheme results from classification of the papers from the arxiv database. The EqRank algorithm did the classification. The only input for the classification is the citation graph. The number of the levels in the hierarchy and the number of the clusters is determined by the algorithm. Generally, there is no external parameters (e.g., a preset list of clusters) in the algorithm. The algorithm creates the classification scheme, and indexes the papers by the created classification; [2] The classification is used to index the new papers. We plan to rebuild the classification scheme regularly. In this way, we will take into account that appearance of new papers may lead to emergence of new themes. Detection of new themes is one of our objectives; [3] A number of extra attributes (e.g. Theme name, Authority and Reference Articles, etc.) for the elements (themes) of the classification (see Help); [4] Accessability of the classification in response to search requests via display options, e.g., display as Tree of Themes, and Refrerence (Citation) Tree. At the moment, the service is available only for the hep-th sector of arxiv.org. Hopefully, it will be extended to cover a number of other sectors.

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We should take advantage of Sun Microsystems
by arun＠mssrf.res.in 08 Mar '06

08 Mar '06

Dear Barbara/ Leslie/ Stevan/ Shaddy/ Senthil, Nancy: We should write to Sun folks to promote OA along with OS initiatives! And seek Sun's participation in Mission 2007. Arun ----- >From Peter Suber's blog More on Sun's open-source education initiative Darryl K. Taft, Sun to Open Source Education, ExtremeNano, March 7, 2006. Excerpt: Sun Microsystems is taking a cue from its successes with open source to help shape the future of education and bridge the digital divide, according to the company's chief executive, Scott McNealy. In a speech at Sun's WWERC (Worldwide Education and Research Conference) here [in NY] on March 7, McNealy said Sun has spun out its GELC (Global Education and Learning Community) effort into a nonprofit organization aimed at aimed at delivering self-paced, Web-based, free and open content --including curriculum, resources and assessment-- for the K-12 segment. Or, as McNealy put it, GELC is "open-sourcing education." McNealy said, "[The] opportunity here is to apply all the community development to textbooks, curriculum and assessment for K-12. So with the help of some folks at Sun we created the GELC, with 2,700 members worldwide and 370-plus projects." >From a Sun press release (March 7, 2006): Sun broke new ground in free and open-source computing in the creation of this non profit which aims to meet the needs of students by sharing best practices globally. The group named an executive director at the conference, Dr. Barbara "Bobbi" Kurshan, formerly President of Educorp Consultants Corporation, and co-CEO of Core Learning Group, Private Equity Fund. The director will lead an advisory board with representatives from nearly every continent to extend the vision for this group. The GELC Executive Director directs all activities of the GELC, including managing the various working groups, monitoring technical developments, overseeing the education community process, managing the creation of GELC specifications and representing the GELC to external organizations.

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University library launches all-OA academic press
by arun＠mssrf.res.in 08 Mar '06

08 Mar '06

Friends: Here is a news story from Peter Suber's blog. Indian universities will do well to follow this model. Best wishes. Arun U of Tennessee libraries launch all-OA academic press Newfound Press is a new digital imprint from the University of Tennessee University Libraries. All its publications will be OA. >From the site: Todays scholarly publishing environment presents a strategic opportunity for academic libraries to expand their role in the publications process. Universities are both creators and consumers in the information economy. A digital library press offers the potential for making scholarly and specialized resources widely available at a reasonable cost. The University of Tennessee Libraries is developing a framework to make scholarly and specialized works available worldwide. Newfound Press, the University Libraries digital imprint, advances the community of learning by experimenting with effective and open systems of scholarly communication. Drawing on the resources that the university has invested in digital library development, Newfound Press collaborates with authors and researchers to bring new forms of publication to an expanding scholarly universe. We consider manuscripts in all disciplines, encompassing scientific research, humanistic scholarship, and artistic creation. It will publish OA journals as well as OA books and OA multimedia scholarship. It only asks for non-exclusive rights from authors and offers CC licenses as an option. It works in partnership with the University of Tennessee institutional repository. And it links to Open Access News from the front page --from the phrase, Open Access. What's in it for us? PS: Kudos to the UT librarians! I wish this enterprise well and hope other universities consider testing the same waters. Update. Also see Scott Teague's article about the launch in the Daily Beacon Online.

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Fwd: British Library Desktop Document Delivery Via Google Scholar
by hbmallikarjuna 08 Mar '06

08 Mar '06

--- In libtech(a)yahoogroups.com, "hbmallikarjuna" <hbmallikarjuna@...> wrote: The internet's search engine and the world's greatest research library are joining forces to offer researchers, students and academics desktop delivery of millions of full text scholarly research articles.From today, searches on Google Scholar (http://www.scholar.google.com) will include links to the British Library's document delivery service. Search results will be matched against the Library's holdings and where a match is made, users will have the option to obtain articles held via the British Library's online document ordering interface, British Library Direct (http://direct.bl.uk) Lynne Brindley, Chief Executive of the British Library, said: "We exist for everyone who wants to do research and we give priority to initiatives that make our collection more easily accessible." "By partnering with Google Scholar, the British Library will enable users to identify and locate relevant articles more effectively than has previously been possible. By linking results to our pay-as-you-go service, British Library Direct, we'll provide a swift and easy means for them to have the items they require delivered straight to their desktop." Below each successfully matched Google Scholar result, a `BL Direct' link will appear. Users that click on the link will be taken to an online ordering form already populated with the bibliographic details of the desired article enabling copyright fee-paid supply to the desktop. Until now, online subject searches yielded many results that could not provide researchers with access to full text. By linking Google Scholar's search software with one of the world's largest document supply services, users can now complete the discovery-to-desktop- delivery process. Particular subject strengths in the British Library's research collections include medicine, pharmacy, engineering, science, food and agriculture, economics, environment, law and education. Articles that are available from the Library can be delivered direct to users' desktops via Secure Electronic Delivery - in as little as two hours. For further information, please contact Ben Sanderson at the British Library Press Office (telephone +44 (0)1937 546126, email: ben.sanderson@...), or Google media contact Nathan Tyler (telephone: +1 650 253 4311, email: nate@...). Notes for Editors 1. The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. It provides world class information services to the academic, business, research and scientific communities and offers unparalleled access to the world's largest and most comprehensive research collection. The British Library's collections include 150 million items from every era of written human history beginning with Chinese oracle bones dating from 300 BC, right up to today's newspapers. Further information is available on the Library's website at www.bl.uk. 2. Google Scholar enables users to search specifically for scholarly literature, including peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, preprints, abstracts and technical reports from all broad areas of research. Researchers, students, librarians and academics use Google Scholar to find articles from a wide variety of academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories and universities, as well as scholarly articles available across the web. Source:http://www.managinginformation.com/ --- End forwarded message ---

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Trainee vacancy at SFIMAR
by M F Kumbar 08 Mar '06

08 Mar '06

Dear All, St. Francis Institute of Management and Research, Mumbai is looking for the Trainee in Library. Qualification: MLISc or BLiSc with 2 years experience stifund for MLiSc candidates 5000/ and for BLiSc 4000/ fair knowledge of IT applications and also knowledge about library softwares. Interested candidates should e-mail their CV to : mfkumbar(a)gmail.com or send CV to the following address within 15 days M F Kumbar Librarian St. Francis Institute of Management and Research Mount Poinsur, S V P Road, Borivali -West, Mumbai - 400 103 Ph. No. 022 - 2891 7089 Extn.24 Fax : 022 - 2890 6567 Mobile : 9820895577 Dear All, St. Francis Institute of Management and Research, Mumbai is looking for the Trainee in Library. Qualification: MLISc or BLiSc with 2 years experience stifund for MLiSc candidates 5000/ and for BLiSc 4000/ fair knowledge of IT applications and also knowledge about library softwares. Interested candidates should e-mail their CV to : mfkumbar(a)gmail.com or send CV to the following address within 15 days M F Kumbar Librarian St. Francis Institute of Management and Research Mount Poinsur, S V P Road, Borivali -West, Mumbai - 400 103 Ph. No. 022 - 2891 7089 Extn.24 Fax : 022 - 2890 6567 Mobile : 9820895577 http://adworks.rediff.com/cgi-bin/AdWorks/sigclick.cgi/www.rediff.com/signa… http://adworks.rediff.com/cgi-bin/AdWorks/sigimpress.cgi/www.rediff.com/sig…

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New publication from the French Institute of Pondicherry
by saravanan 08 Mar '06

08 Mar '06

Just Published JUST PUBLISHED Maram. Multipurpose tree database for agroecosystem research and appropriate management. [CD-ROM]. Santoshagouda V. Patil. Collection Ecologie no. 43, IFP-CIRAD, 2005. Language: English. Rs. 300 (11 ?) MARAM, signifying 'trees' in more than one South Indian language, is a computer aided database product endowed with considerable information on farm tree multiple uses - indeed the first of its kind in an electronic format in the peninsular Indian context. It covers a total of 269 woody species comprising 19 endemics from 544 small, medium and large farms spread over 61 districts in three states, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. It is a useful and user-friendly product for all stakeholders of agroforestry such as researchers, fieldworkers and the farming community at large, on choice of species, their management and potential uses. The CD-ROM graphically illustrates the morphology, management practices, products and ecological services offered by such trees with the help of over 1500 vivid illustrations. Keywords: Agro-ecological zones, agroforestry, farmland, homegarden, multipurpose tree database, South India, tree-based systems About the author Santoshagouda V. Patil is currently a researcher in the Ecology department of the French Institute of Pondicherry and is involved in various research activities related to the Western Ghats and to biodiversity assessment projects. He has earlier worked on South Indian farming systems at the Karnataka State Sericulture Research and Training Institute, Bangalore. VIENT DE PARAITRE Maram. Multipurpose tree database for agroecosystem research and appropriate management. [CD-ROM]. Santoshagouda V. Patil. Collection Ecologie no.43, IFP-CIRAD, 2005. Langue: Anglais. Rs. 300 (11 ?) MARAM, traduction d' «arbres» dans plus d'une langue de l'Inde du Sud, est une banque de données soutenue par un système informatique, dotée d'une quantité considérable d'information sur les multiples usages des arbres des exploitations agricoles - la première du genre sous forme électronique dans la péninsule indienne. Elle couvre un total de 269 espèces d'arbres comprenant 19 espèces endémiques, recensées dans 544 petites, moyennes et grandes exploitations agricoles réparties dans plus de 61 districts de trois États : Karnataka, Kerala et Tamil Nadu. C'est un produit utile et convivial pour tous les acteurs de l'agroforesterie comme les chercheurs, les gens de terrain et la communauté des exploitants agricoles en général, pour le choix des espèces selon leur exploitation et leurs potentielles utilisations. Le CD présente la morphologie, les méthodes d'exploitation, les usages et les avantages écologiques de tels arbres avec l'aide de plus de 1500 claires illustrations. Mots-clefs: Zones agro-écologiques, agroforesterie, terres arables, jardin, base de donnée sur les arbres à usage multiple, Inde du Sud, verger, arboriculture L'auteur Santoshagouda V. Patil est actuellement chercheur dans le département d'Écologie de l'Institut Français de Pondichéry. Il est engagé dans diverses activités de recherche en lien avec des projets sur les Ghâts Occidentaux et l'étude de la biodiversité. Il a travaillé auparavant sur les systèmes d'exploitation agricole d'Inde du Sud au sein de l'Institut de Formation et de Recherche en Sériciculture de l'État du Karnataka. For your orders/enquiries, please contact: Pour toute commande ou demande d'information, veuillez contacter: Library French Institute of Pondicherry 11, St. Louis Street, P.B. 33, Pondicherry-605 001, INDIA Phone: (91)-413-2334168. Fax:(91)-413-2339534 E-mail:library@ifpindia.org Just Published .cont { MARGIN-LEFT: auto; WIDTH: 600px; MARGIN-RIGHT: auto; BACKGROUND-COLOR: white } .left { FLOAT: left; WIDTH: 290px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: white } .right { FLOAT: right; WIDTH: 290px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: white } DIV#end { WIDTH: 600px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: white } .title1 { FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 13px; COLOR: #336699; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; TEXT-ALIGN: center } .title2 { FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 13px; FONT-STYLE: italic; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; TEXT-ALIGN: justify } .title3 { FONT-SIZE: 12px; BORDER-BOTTOM: #000000 1px solid; FONT-STYLE: italic; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; TEXT-ALIGN: justify } .text1 { FONT-SIZE: 11px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; TEXT-ALIGN: justify } .text2 { FONT-SIZE: 12px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; WHITE-SPACE: pre; TEXT-ALIGN: center } .text3 { FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 12px; FONT-STYLE: italic; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif } cid:001701c642a2$daa3a250$59c809c0@ifpindia.org JUST PUBLISHED Maram. Multipurpose tree database for agroecosystem research and appropriate management. [CD-ROM]. Santoshagouda V. Patil. Collection Ecologie no. 43, IFP-CIRAD, 2005. Language: English. Rs. 300 (11 ) cid:001801c642a2$daa3a250$59c809c0@ifpindia.org MARAM, signifying 'trees' in more than one South Indian language, is a computer aided database product endowed with considerable information on farm tree multiple uses - indeed the first of its kind in an electronic format in the peninsular Indian context. It covers a total of 269 woody species comprising 19 endemics from 544 small, medium and large farms spread over 61 districts in three states, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. It is a useful and user-friendly product for all stakeholders of agroforestry such as researchers, fieldworkers and the farming community at large, on choice of species, their management and potential uses. The CD-ROM graphically illustrates the morphology, management practices, products and ecological services offered by such trees with the help of over 1500 vivid illustrations. Keywords: Agro-ecological zones, agroforestry, farmland, homegarden, multipurpose tree database, South India, tree-based systems About the author Santoshagouda V. Patil is currently a researcher in the Ecology department of the French Institute of Pondicherry and is involved in various research activities related to the Western Ghats and to biodiversity assessment projects. He has earlier worked on South Indian farming systems at the Karnataka State Sericulture Research and Training Institute, Bangalore. VIENT DE PARAITRE Maram. Multipurpose tree database for agroecosystem research and appropriate management. [CD-ROM]. Santoshagouda V. Patil. Collection Ecologie no.43, IFP-CIRAD, 2005. Langue: Anglais. Rs. 300 (11 ) cid:001801c642a2$daa3a250$59c809c0@ifpindia.org MARAM, traduction d' «arbres» dans plus d'une langue de l'Inde du Sud, est une banque de données soutenue par un système informatique, dotée d'une quantité considérable d'information sur les multiples usages des arbres des exploitations agricoles - la première du genre sous forme électronique dans la péninsule indienne. Elle couvre un total de 269 espèces d'arbres comprenant 19 espèces endémiques, recensées dans 544 petites, moyennes et grandes exploitations agricoles réparties dans plus de 61 districts de trois États : Karnataka, Kerala et Tamil Nadu. C'est un produit utile et convivial pour tous les acteurs de l'agroforesterie comme les chercheurs, les gens de terrain et la communauté des exploitants agricoles en général, pour le choix des espèces selon leur exploitation et leurs potentielles utilisations. Le CD présente la morphologie, les méthodes d'exploitation, les usages et les avantages écologiques de tels arbres avec l'aide de plus de 1500 claires illustrations. Mots-clefs: Zones agro-écologiques, agroforesterie, terres arables, jardin, base de donnée sur les arbres à usage multiple, Inde du Sud, verger, arboriculture L'auteur Santoshagouda V. Patil est actuellement chercheur dans le département d'Écologie de l'Institut Français de Pondichéry. Il est engagé dans diverses activités de recherche en lien avec des projets sur les Ghâts Occidentaux et l'étude de la biodiversité. Il a travaillé auparavant sur les systèmes d'exploitation agricole d'Inde du Sud au sein de l'Institut de Formation et de Recherche en Sériciculture de l'État du Karnataka. For your orders/enquiries, please contact: Pour toute commande ou demande d'information, veuillez contacter: Library French Institute of Pondicherry 11, St. Louis Street, P.B. 33, Pondicherry-605 001, INDIA Phone: (91)-413-2334168. Fax:(91)-413-2339534 E-mail: mailto:library@ifpindia.org library(a)ifpindia.org

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providing the information regarding the publisher address of library science journal in india .( manmgesh talmale)
by mangesh talmale 08 Mar '06

08 Mar '06

Dear professional , can anybody help me providing the information regarding the publisher address of library science journal in india . with best regards mangesh talmale email: elibmangesh(a)yahoo.co.in --------------------------------- Jiyo cricket on Yahoo! India cricket Yahoo! Messenger Mobile Stay in touch with your buddies all the time. Dear professional , can anybody help me providing the information regarding the publisher address of library science journal in india . with best regards mangesh talmale email: mailto:elibmangesh@yahoo.co.in elibmangesh(a)yahoo.co.in Jiyo cricket on http://us.rd.yahoo.com/mail/in/mailcricket/*http://in.sports.yahoo.com/cric… Yahoo! India cricket http://us.rd.yahoo.com/mail/in/mailmobilemessenger/*http://in.mobile.yahoo.… Yahoo! Messenger Mobile Stay in touch with your buddies all the time.

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Requirement of Written accession register
by Gopakumar Velayudhanpillai 08 Mar '06

08 Mar '06

Accession registers are essential documents in a library. Librarian is taking charge of the items he has purchased for the library by under the entry. He has the resposibility and authority for what ever entry he has made in the register by signing under it. I do not think that, at present the technology can offer an alternative for this type of an inventory which can create suvh an authority and responsibility with a person in charge of the library. Moreover, for audit purposes an inventory of this type is most essential. Gopakumar.V Research Scholar DLIS, Mangalore University Gopakumar.V Research Scholar Department of Library & Information Science Mangalore University Mangalagangotri gopakumar.v(a)rediffmail.com Accession registers are essential documents in a library. Librarian is taking charge of the items he has purchased for the library by under the entry. He has the resposibility and authority for what ever entry he has made in the register by signing under it. I do not think that, at present the technology can offer an alternative for this type of an inventory which can create suvh an authority and responsibility with a person in charge of the library. Moreover, for audit purposes an inventory of this type is most essential. Gopakumar.V Research Scholar DLIS, Mangalore University Gopakumar.V Research Scholar Department of Library & Information Science Mangalore University Mangalagangotri gopakumar.v(a)rediffmail.com http://adworks.rediff.com/cgi-bin/AdWorks/sigclick.cgi/www.rediff.com/signa… http://adworks.rediff.com/cgi-bin/AdWorks/sigimpress.cgi/www.rediff.com/sig…

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free software of vachana sahitya
by Sampath Kumar 08 Mar '06

08 Mar '06

Dear Friends I feel very happy to inform you that Sri. Sri. Sri.Dr Shivamurthy Swamiji of Sri Taralabalu Jagadguru Brihanmath, Sirigere, Karnataka, India, has introduced free download page for the Windows version of the Ganaka Vachana Samputa - a unique software on the Vachana Literature of 12th century AD in Karnataka. Recently Sri. Sri. Sri.Dr. Shivamurthy Swamiji visited Kuvempu University and gave a lecture on this software. I hope this will be more useful to our professionals those who are interested in vachana sahitya. You may vist www.taralabalu.org to download Ganaka Vachana Samputa. For further details you may write to: swamiji(a)vsnl.com With warm wishes Dr.B.T. Sampath Kumar Lecturer Dept. of Library and Inf Sc Kuvempu University Jnana Sahyadri, Shimoga Karnataka ==================== Dr.B.T.Sampath Kumar Lecturer Dept. of Library and Inf. Sc. KUVEMPU UNIVERSITY, JNANA SAHYADRI-577451, Shimoga. Karnataka, INDIA Ph:94483 20187 www.freewebs.com/drbtsampathkumar Dear Friends I feel very happy to inform you that Sri. Sri. Sri.Dr Shivamurthy Swamiji of Sri Taralabalu Jagadguru Brihanmath, Sirigere, Karnataka, India, has introduced free download page for the Windows version of the Ganaka Vachana Samputa - a unique software on the Vachana Literature of 12th century AD in Karnataka. Recently Sri. Sri. Sri.Dr. Shivamurthy Swamiji visited Kuvempu University and gave a lecture on this software. I hope this will be more useful to our professionals those who are interested in vachana sahitya. You may vist www.taralabalu.org to download Ganaka Vachana Samputa. For further details you may write to: swamiji(a)vsnl.com With warm wishes Dr.B.T. Sampath Kumar Lecturer Dept. of Library and Inf Sc Kuvempu University Jnana Sahyadri, Shimoga Karnataka ==================== Dr.B.T.Sampath Kumar Lecturer Dept. of Library and Inf. Sc. KUVEMPU UNIVERSITY, JNANA SAHYADRI-577451, Shimoga. Karnataka, INDIA Ph:94483 20187 www.freewebs.com/drbtsampathkumar http://adworks.rediff.com/cgi-bin/AdWorks/sigclick.cgi/www.rediff.com/signa… http://adworks.rediff.com/cgi-bin/AdWorks/sigimpress.cgi/www.rediff.com/sig…

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OA for publicly funded research - the German example
by Subbiah Arunachalam 08 Mar '06

08 Mar '06

Friends: We in India will do well to go one step beyond this model from Germany and follow the Wellcome Trust policy of mandating OA for all publicly funded research! Please read Peter Suber's comment at the end of this mail. Best regards. Arun [Subbiah Arunachalam] ------------------------- From Peter Suber's blog OA to publicly-funded research in Germany Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation, DFG) has adopted some Open Access Guidelines that encourage grantees to provide OA to DFG-funded research. (Thanks to Ingegerd Rabow.) From the press release (January 30, 2006): In 2003 the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) signed the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities. The DFG supports the culture of open access. Unhindered access to publications increases the distribution of scientific knowledge, thereby enhancing the authors' visibility and contributing to their reputations. The DFG has now tied open access into its funding policy. During their meetings in January 2006, the DFG's Senate and Joint Committee recommended encouraging funded scientists to also digitally publish their results and make them available via open access. In order to put secondary publications (i.e. self-archived publications by which the authors provide their scientific work on the internet for free following conventional publication) on the proper legal footing, scientists involved in DFG-funded projects are also requested to reserve the exploitation rights. Recommendations are currently being integrated into the usage guidelines, which form an integral part of every approval. They are worded as follows: "The DFG expects the research results funded by it to be published and to be made available, where possible, digitally and on the internet via open access. To achieve this, the contributions involved should either be published in discipline-specific or institutional electronic archives (repositories), or directly in referenced or recognised open access journals, in addition to conventional publishing. When entering into publishing contracts scientists participating in DFG-funded projects should, as far as possible, permanently reserve a non-exclusive right of exploitation for electronic publication of their research results for the purpose of open access. Here, discipline-specific delay periods of generally 6-12 months can be agreed upon, before which publication of previously published research results in discipline-specific or institutional electronic archives may be prohibited. Please ensure that a note indicating support of the project by the DFG is included in the publication." The revised usage guidelines are expected to be available in April 2006. Comment. It's a breakthrough for the DFG to incorporate its commitment to OA into its funding policy. On the other hand, it's ironic that it has proposed a policy like the NIH's, which merely encourages grantees to make their work OA, at a time when the NIH is documenting that mere encouragement does not work. I hope the DFG will read the NIH's January 2006 report to Congress, in which it shows that only 3.8% of its grantees have complied with its request or encouragement in the first eight months under the policy. The most effective way to assure OA to the results of DFG-funded research is to mandate it. Two good examples are the draft RCUK policy, not yet adopted, and the Wellcome Trust policy, in effect since October 2005. Friends: We in India will do well to go one step beyond this model from Germany and follow the Wellcome Trust policy of mandating OA for all publicly funded research! Please read Peter Suber's comment at the end of this mail. Best regards. Arun [Subbiah Arunachalam] ------------------------- From Peter Suber's blog OA to publicly-funded research in Germany http://www.dfg.de/en/ Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation, DFG) has adopted some http://www.dfg.de/en/news/information_science_research/other_news/info_wiss… Open Access Guidelines that encourage grantees to provide OA to DFG-funded research. (Thanks to Ingegerd Rabow.) From the http://www.dfg.de/en/news/information_science_research/other_news/info_wiss… press release (January 30, 2006): In 2003 the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) signed the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities. The DFG supports the culture of open access. Unhindered access to publications increases the distribution of scientific knowledge, thereby enhancing the authors' visibility and contributing to their reputations. The DFG has now tied open access into its funding policy. During their meetings in January 2006, the DFGs Senate and Joint Committee recommended encouraging funded scientists to also digitally publish their results and make them available via open access. In order to put secondary publications (i.e. self-archived publications by which the authors provide their scientific work on the internet for free following conventional publication) on the proper legal footing, scientists involved in DFG-funded projects are also requested to reserve the exploitation rights. Recommendations are currently being integrated into the usage guidelines, which form an integral part of every approval. They are worded as follows: "The DFG expects the research results funded by it to be published and to be made available, where possible, digitally and on the internet via open access. To achieve this, the contributions involved should either be published in discipline-specific or institutional electronic archives (repositories), or directly in referenced or recognised open access journals, in addition to conventional publishing. When entering into publishing contracts scientists participating in DFG-funded projects should, as far as possible, permanently reserve a non-exclusive right of exploitation for electronic publication of their research results for the purpose of open access. Here, discipline-specific delay periods of generally 6-12 months can be agreed upon, before which publication of previously published research results in discipline-specific or institutional electronic archives may be prohibited. Please ensure that a note indicating support of the project by the DFG is included in the publication." The revised usage guidelines are expected to be available in April 2006. Comment . It's a breakthrough for the DFG to incorporate its commitment to OA into its funding policy. On the other hand, it's ironic that it has proposed a policy like the NIH's, which merely encourages grantees to make their work OA, at a time when the NIH is documenting that http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/2006_02_12_fosblogarchive.html#114010172… mere encouragement does not work . I hope the DFG will read the http://publicaccess.nih.gov/Final_Report_20060201.pdf NIH's January 2006 report to Congress , in which it shows that only 3.8% of its grantees have complied with its request or encouragement in the first eight months under the policy. The most effective way to assure OA to the results of DFG-funded research is to mandate it. Two good examples are the http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/access/index.asp draft RCUK policy , not yet adopted, and the http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/doc_WTD002766.html Wellcome Trust policy , in effect since October 2005.

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