The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) declared last August that researchers who want to continue to receive federal grants must make all scientific publications resulting from those grants publicly available. While this proposal sounds simple and even laudable, it has far-reaching consequences. Under the current plan, OSTP’s efforts to democratize research could very well create the opposite effect, limiting the best and most valued publishing assets to the wealthiest elite while damaging America’s research ecosystem and hampering our nation’s ability to innovate.
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) has joined with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) to raise the issues inherent in the “Open Access” policy that will affect, if not negatively damage, the future of U.S. scientific publishing. The new policy removes publishers' ability to impose an embargo, which is a very happy development. Still, the White House memo is alarmingly mute on the issue of who will pay for the costs of publishing, which could be substantial.
Publishers have raised concerns about the pitfalls of open access, including the broader and more rapid dissemination of research, which could lead to a loss of revenue for publishers. The policy could also lead to a decrease in the quality of research, as researchers may be incentivized to publish more frequently rather than focusing on producing high-quality research.
While the goal of the policy is to increase access to scientific research, it is important to consider the potential negative consequences of the policy. The ASME and IEEE are calling for a more nuanced approach to open access that takes into account the costs of publishing and the potential impact on the quality of research.
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