<h1 class="entry-title"><font><a href="http://networkedblogs.com/tV1DQ">http://networkedblogs.com/tV1DQ</a></font></h1><h1 class="entry-title"><font></font> </h1><h1 class="entry-title"><font>It’s FRPAA time! Pro-open access legislation introduced in
House and Senate</font></h1><div class="entry-title"> </div>
<div class="entry-meta"><span class="meta-prep meta-prep-author">Posted on</span>
<span class="entry-date">February 10, 2012</span> <span class="byline"><span class="meta-sep">by</span> <span class="author vcard">Corey
Williams</span></span></div>
<div class="entry-content">
<p>Yesterday members in both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of
Representatives introduced identical bills with bipartisan support aimed at
improving access to federally funded research. In the House, the Federal
Research Public Access Act of 2012 (or FRPAA) (<a href="http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d112:HR4004:">H.R. 4004</a>) was
introduced in the morning by Rep. Doyle (D-PA) and co-sponsored by Reps. Yoder
(R-KS) and Clay (D-MO), and referred to the House Committee on Oversight and
Government Reform. In the Senate, a bill by the same name (<a href="http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d112:S2096:">S. 2096</a>) was
introduced late in the day by Sens. Cornyn (R-TX) and co-sponsored by Senators
Wyden (D-OR) and Hutchison (R-TX), and then referred to the Senate Committee on
Homeland Security and Government Affairs.</p>
<p>If passed, the Federal Research Public Access Act of 2012 would:</p>
<ul>
<li>Require federal departments and agencies with an annual extramural research
budget of $100 million to develop a policy to ensure researchers submit an
electronic copy of the final manuscript accepted for publication in a
peer-reviewed journal.</li>
<li>Ensure that the manuscript is preserved in a stable digital repository
maintained by that agency or in another suitable repository that permits free
public access, interoperability, and long-term preservation.</li>
<li>Require that each taxpayer-funded manuscript be made available to the public
online and without cost, no later than six months after the article has been
published in a peer-reviewed journal.</li></ul>
<p>Sound familiar? It should – these bills are essentially identical to FRPAA
legislation <a href="http://www.ala.org/advocacy/access/accesstoinformation/publiclyfundedresearch/s1373">introduced
in previous Congresses</a> dating back to 2006. The ALA has a history of strong
support for this type of legislation – as they build on the success of the
National Institutes of Health (NIH) Public Access Policy implemented in 2008.
If you recall, the NIH Public Access Policy ensures that the public have access
to the published results of NIH funded research no later than 12 months after
publication. FRPAA legislation would be a big step in the right direction by
expanding the amount of research made available<em> and</em> providing access to
it to no later than 6 months after publication.</p>
<p>Rep. Doyle sums up the intent of the legislation by stating in his <a href="http://doyle.house.gov/press-releases-1/2012/02/doyle-introduces-bill-to-ensure-public-access-to-federally-funded-research.shtml">press
release</a>,</p>
<p style="padding-left:30px">Americans have the right to see the results of
research funded with taxpayer dollars….Yet such research too often gets locked
away behind a pay-wall, forcing those who want to learn from it to pay expensive
subscription fees for access.</p>
<p>Bottom line – our patrons, the American public, should not have to fund
federal research with their tax dollars and then have to pay for it
<em>again</em> to access it. The ALA has been a long-time, ardent supporter of
increasing access to information of all types, including federally funded
research. Thus, the ALA is a strong supporter of FRPAA legislation and will
advocate for passage of these bills.</p>
<p>But wait, there’s more! FRPAA is also the perfect antidote to the bitter
<em>anti-</em>open access “pill” being pushed by Rep. Issa in the House with his
Research Works Act bill (<a href="http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d112:HR3699:">H.R. 3699</a>).
Rep. Issa’s bill, if passed, would nullify the NIH Public Access policy and
prevent any such similar policies from being implemented. Let’s shift the
conversation and focus our energy on legislation that <em>improves </em>access
to the public (i.e. taxpayers). Today’s (re)introduction of FRPAA legislation
is a positive and welcome addition to improving access to federally funded
research.</p>
<p>Corey Williams<br>Associate Director, Office of Government
Relations<br>American Library Association</p><p> </p><p><a href="http://networkedblogs.com/tV1DQ">http://networkedblogs.com/tV1DQ</a></p><p><br clear="all"><br>-- <br></p></div><div><em><span style="font-family:"Comic Sans MS";font-size:10pt">Diedre Conkling</span></em><i><span style="font-family:"Comic Sans MS";font-size:10pt"><br>
<em><span style="font-family:"Comic Sans MS"">Lincoln County Library District</span></em><br><em><span style="font-family:"Comic Sans MS"">P.O. Box 2027</span></em><br><em><span style="font-family:"Comic Sans MS"">Newport, OR 97365</span></em><br>
<em><span style="font-family:"Comic Sans MS"">Phone & Fax: 541-265-3066</span></em><br><em><span style="font-family:"Comic Sans MS"">Work email</span></em></span></i><em><span style="font-family:"Comic Sans MS";font-size:10pt;font-style:normal">: </span></em><a href="mailto:diedre@lincolncolibrarydist.org" target="_blank"><i><span style="font-family:"Comic Sans MS";font-size:10pt"><font color="#0000ff">diedre@lincolncolibrarydist.org</font></span></i></a><i><span style="font-family:"Comic Sans MS";font-size:10pt"><br>
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<div><a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/WAR-IS-OBSOLETE/297916183027" target="_blank"><font color="#3b5998">WAR IS OBSOLETE</font></a></div><span>Holding resentment is like eating poison and waiting for the other person to keel over. - Unknown Author</span></h6>
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