Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 09:28:07 +0530 From: Subbiah Arunachalam <arun@mssrf.res.in> Here is a statement from a group of eight Vice Chancellors of Australian universities supporting open access. Many American universities, including MIT, encourage open access. Physicists world wide place their preprints and postprints in arXiv, the centralised archive for physics, astronomy, mathematical biology and related fields. We must quickly mobilise Indian universities to adopt open access. Prof. Nigavekar might wish to convene a meeting of vice chancellors especially to discuss issues of access to information generated world wide, dissemination of information generated in Indian universities and the advantages of open access. In my view, open access benefits developing countries far more than developed countries. Regards. Arun [Subbiah Arunachalam] [Forwarding from Colin Steele. Though dated "April 2004", this document was released today, May 25, 2004. --Peter.] Statement on open access to scholarly information The Group of Eight vice-chancellors, representing Australia's pre-eminent research universities, record their commitment to open access initiatives that will enhance global access to scholarly information for the public good. The vice-chancellors note that: * information, if it is to achieve maximum benefit for society, must be readily available to a global audience * the rapid development of digital communication technologies provides expanded opportunities for the widespread dissemination of scholarly information * new business models are required to ensure that scholarly publishing is cost effective * any development in digital publishing must incorporate the current framework of scholarly publishing standards relating to the quality of inquiry and reporting * digital publishing initiatives must appropriately recognise and protect the intellectual property of the authors and require accepted standards of attribution * the Group of Eight universities are providing leadership in the development of digital publishing initiatives in Australia. The vice-chancellors support: * ongoing development of open access initiatives in Group of Eight universities * digital publishing practices that underpin the timely, cost-effective dissemination of the highest quality scholarly information with a commitment to good practice * further examination of criteria for promotion in new publishing models. Professor Ian W. Chubb AO Chair, The Group of Eight Vice-Chancellor The Australian National University Professor James McWha Vice-Chancellor The University of Adelaide Professor Kwong Lee Dow AM Vice-Chancellor The University of Melbourne Professor Richard Larkins AO Vice-Chancellor Monash University Professor Mark Wainwright Vice-Chancellor The University of New South Wales Professor John A. Hay AC Vice-Chancellor The University of Queensland Professor Gavin Brown Vice-Chancellor The University of Sydney Professor Alan Robson AM Vice-Chancellor The University of Western Australia April 2004