American Society for Cell Biology: support for free access to research
ASCB Press Release, 01/31/2007 :
Timely free access to taxpayer-funded research does not threaten financial stability of scientific journals, says the American Society for Cell Biology
Bethesda, MD – Free and timely public access to scientific literature is not only the right thing to do, it needn’t undermine the financial stability of publishers, states Gary Ward, PhD, Treasurer of the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB). The case of ASCB’s own high-impact journal demonstrates clearly that “free access and profitability are not mutually exclusive.”
Nevertheless, concerns are repeatedly raised by commercial and nonprofit publishers of scientific journals that providing free access to reports on federally funded research would undermine their business models and financial stability.
The ASCB, a nonprofit scientific society with over 11,000 members, makes the contents of its monthly research journal, Molecular Biology of the Cell (MBC), available online two months after publication. The Society reports that after six years of doing so, Molecular Biology of the Cell remains not only financially sound, but profitable. Thus the ASCB is able to continue to fulfill its mission and expand its programs. The ASCB’s mission is to promote and develop the field of cell biology, further biomedical research and sound science education and policies, increase public awareness, and support career development of women, minorities, and others in biomedical research.
In a statement released today, the ASCB said that, “Some publishers argue that providing free access to their journal’s content will catastrophically erode their revenue base. The experience of many successful research journals demonstrates otherwise; these journals make their online content freely available after a short embargo period that protects subscription revenue.”
For more information, contact ASCB Public Policy Director Kevin Wilson at (301) 347-9300.
Additionally, Biomed Central has an interview with the Executive Director discussing ASCB’s economic model.
http://www.biomedcentral.com/openaccess/archive/?page=features&issue=6
