Digital Libraries Initiative :: Scientific and Scholarly Information
Scientific and scholarly Information
The digital revolution has radically changed the way scientific information is spread. Practically all publications are now available online.
Access to this vast quantity of e-data is essential for innovation, because most new ideas are built on previous research. And to safeguard our scientific heritage, this wealth of information must be adequately preserved for future generations.
ISSUES
Online accessibility
Many researchers argue for an open-access system, with publications and data available to all online, free of charge.
Publishers often disagree, pointing to the large amounts they invest in the peer review system and other valuable services.
The challenge is to combine wide access with a fair return on investment for publishers. Two basic options are currently being considered:
- Author-pays publishing – the author of an article (or the body funding the research) pays for publication rather than user
- Self-archiving – the author deposits the peer-reviewed article in an open archive, sometimes after an embargo period – a delay to allow publishers to get a return on investment.
Preservation and storage
To ensure that publications and research data are not lost to future generations.
Just like books and paintings, digital materials have to be managed and maintained, otherwise:
- files may be unreadable when the hardware or software used to store them becomes obsolete
- material will be lost when storage devices deteriorate over time (some CD-ROMs have a lifetime of just 10 years)
- our storage systems could be overwhelmed by the sheer volume of new and changing content.
Most EU countries have no clear policy on digital preservation, though the issue is now being given more attention. National authorities agreed to step up their efforts following the Commission's 2006 recommendation on digitisation and digital preservation and in 2007 governments decided that preserving research findings was especially important (see Council Conclusions of November 2007)
Further information and quick links
- Who does what?
- Funding
- Achievements
- Policy Background
- Who does what?
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The European Commission:
- Fuels the policy debate and brings stakeholders together to improve the framework conditions for online accessibility and digital preservation.
- Experiments with guidelines on publishing articles in open repositories after an embargo period within specific research programmes.
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Co-funds:
- Projects for access and preservation of scientific information
- Costs of open access (author pays) publishing of Community-funded research results
- Research infrastructures (in particular repositories) through the Capacities programme
The Member states take action to improve access to scientific information through their technology policies, contribute to the policy debate, implement decisions taken jointly at European level.
Research funding bodies are expected to design and implement a coherent policy on open access across the European Union.
- Funding
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In 2007 - 2008, a total of €85 million is available through:
-
Seventh framework
programme for research and technological development (FP7):
- 50 Million for infrastructures for storing scientific data (capacities programme)
- 25 Million for research on digital preservation
-
eContentPlus:
- 10 Million for interoperability of and multilingual access to collections of scientific material.
-
Seventh framework
programme for research and technological development (FP7):
- Achievements
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Agreement on measures for scientific information
In the area of scientific information, Member States have unanimously agreed on measures to make scientific information more accessible (November 2007). They are now implementing these measures.
Experimenting with open access
The Commission is currently experimenting with open access by making results of the EU funded research accessible to all online.
Projects for scientific information
Since the launch of the Initiative, the Commission has co-funded a range of new projects aiming to improve the access to and preservation of cultural heritage and scientific information.
A better climate for dialogue
Constructive dialogue between publishers and scientific community (including a common large scale experiment) has been fostered through the High Level Group on Digital Libraries.
Recommendation of 24 August 2006 on the digitisation and online accessibility of cultural content and digital preservation. The Commission urged Member States, among other issues, to establish clear plans concerning digital preservation.
Communication of 14 February 2007 on scientific information
in the digital age: access, dissemination and preservation.
The Communication presented the Commission's vision on the
scientific publishing system and on the controversy between
publishers and the scientists on 'open access' to scientific
publications. The Communication announced a series of measures
to improve access to scientific information across Europe.
Accompanying Staff Working Paper of 14 February 2007
The staff working paper gave facts and figures on scientific
information in the digital age and supported the Commission
Communication on scientific information in the digital age with
more detailed information.
Council Conclusions of 23 November 2007 The Council Conclusions welcomed the Commission initiative on scientific information and underlined the importance of the rapid dissemination of scientific information. The Conclusions provided a roadmap for the activities of the Member States in this area in the coming years.