Friends: Here is a statement from Heather Joseph of SPARC dated 19 December 2019 “Like others, we have heard rumors about a possible new Administration Open Access Policy. As a coalition of more than 200 academic and research libraries on college and university campuses across the country, SPARC has long advocated for a federal policy that would make the results of taxpayer-funded research immediately available for the public to freely access and fully use. We wholeheartedly endorse updating current policy and eliminating the unnecessary 12-month waiting period for the public to gain access to the outputs of taxpayer-funded scientific research, including data, articles, and the supporting computer code. Ensuring full open access to articles and data reporting on the results of publicly funded research will deliver important benefits to all by improving scientific productivity, generating new uses and applications for research, empowering startup ventures and businesses, and giving patients and their families hope of finding cures to rare and currently untreatable diseases. Without a zero-embargo policy, the U.S. stands to fall substantially behind many other nations that have already introduced strong open access policies.” Well done Heather! ***** Open Research Funders Group Reaffirms Support for Open Science http://www.orfg.org/news/2019/12/20/open-research-funders-group-reaffirms-su... December 20, 2019 http://www.orfg.org/news/2019/12/20/open-research-funders-group-reaffirms-su... With news that the United States may be considering a shift in their national open access policy, the Open Research Funders Group https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/nam01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http*3A*2F*2Fwww.orfg.org*2F&data=02*7C01*7CAshley.Farley*40gatesfoundation.org*7C59f519423c9c4c91899508d784c52636*7C296b38384bd5496cbd4bf456ea743b74*7C0*7C0*7C637123854621241622&sdata=Unt*2Ftp*2BnqjRQ2lhb8E21TwG7sGQCEb8ZfwSmEB4QgpI*3D&reserved=0__;JSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJSUl!!Eh6p8Q!TB8y00YAOL8luLMSZmDMM0NQcTHyUtKco0Bt-G6UQzzibsO6FbrcPcKIs5-LB0o$ (ORFG) reaffirms its support for the sharing of research outputs as widely and quickly as possible. The ORFG, a partnership of 16 philanthropies https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/nam01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http*3A*2F*2Fwww.orfg.org*2Fmembers&data=02*7C01*7CAshley.Farley*40gatesfoundation.org*7C59f519423c9c4c91899508d784c52636*7C296b38384bd5496cbd4bf456ea743b74*7C0*7C0*7C637123854621241622&sdata=Bw8Y1iN7HyW8379m5SzQks9Bw6A3kwtanFvGdi9oWBg*3D&reserved=0__;JSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJQ!!Eh6p8Q!TB8y00YAOL8luLMSZmDMM0NQcTHyUtKco0Bt-G6UQzzibsO6FbrcPcKIN4w5icI$ with assets in excess of $100 billion, believes that open access (along with open data and broader open science activities) benefits society by potentially accelerating the pace of discovery, reducing information-sharing gaps, encouraging innovation, and promoting reproducibility.

From a practical standpoint, open access demonstrates a tangible return on taxpayer investment. Federal funds that support research have their highest impact when the results of this labor are shared, discussed, tested, and built upon with as few restrictions as possible.

Well done ORFG! Arun http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4398-4658 http://www.researcherid.com/rid/B-9925-2009