The Association of American Universities (AAU), Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) and Association of Research Libraries (ARL) have released a two-page statement by David E. Shulenburger, APLU's Vice President for Academic Affairs. The statement calls on the research university community to provide input to the US government for increasing access to the results of federally funded research.
In February, John P. Holdren, Director of the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy, issued a memorandum directing federal research funding agencies with R&D budgets of $100 million or more to develop a plan within six months to support increased public access to the results of research funded by the federal government.
Shulenburger states that to assure that resulting plans serve scholarship well, it is critically important that research universities provide input to federal agencies while they are considering what to propose to the White House, as well as during the Director's approval process. It is imperative to ensure that agency plans are efficient and effective, and that they meet the needs of the academy, the government and the public, according to him.
ARL is a nonprofit organisation of 125 research libraries in the US and Canada. Its mission is to influence the changing environment of scholarly communication and the public policies that affect research libraries and the diverse communities they serve.
