[eIFLoa] Fwd: PRESS RELEASE: New Open Access website encourages exchange of research data

[Iryna Kuchma]

a nice way to promote Open Access at the national level - Open Access -
Greater Reach for Research
http://www.openaccess.nl/

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Kuil, van der Annemiek <vanderKuil at surf.nl>
Date: 2009/10/20
Subject: PRESS RELEASE: New Open Access website encourages exchange of
research data
To: JISC-REPOSITORIES at jiscmail.ac.uk


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*New Open Access website encourages exchange of research data*

*Website developed by SURF*

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*Utrecht**, 20 October 2009 *– SURF, the higher education and research
partnership for network services and ICT in the Netherlands, is launching
the website www.openaccess.nl. The website has been developed on behalf of
the whole higher education sector and links up with international Open
Access week (19 to 23 October).

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The Open Access website provides structured information about Open Access to
research results and the advantages that Open Access has. Practical examples
are used to illustrate the possibilities opened up by the Internet for
innovations in scholarly communication. The website provides researchers
with information about how Open Access can give their work a larger
potential audience. Openaccess.nl shows the options that each discipline has
for making research results openly accessible.



*Leading researchers*

On the website, Robbert Dijkgraaf (President of the Royal Netherlands
Academy of Arts and Sciences, KNAW) explains why Open Access publication is
necessary: “The starting point is that the maximum possible number of people
should be able to have access to the results of science and scholarship.
Ultimately, that will provide the greatest benefit for science and
scholarship.” Other leading researchers, including a Nobel Prize-winner,
provide inspiration, including for administrators and teachers. The
English-language website is intended mainly for those involved in higher
education and research in the Netherlands.

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*Open Access week*

The website will go online during international Open Access week, when
research universities, universities of applied sciences and research
institutes will be devoting extra attention to the importance of Open Access
to the results of research that has been financed with public money. Many of
the Dutch universities will be organising information sessions to explain
the advantages of Open Access publication to their scholars. The higher
education sector hopes that by providing examples and practical help, it can
inspire present and future researchers. SURF is coordinating the programme
in the Netherlands.



The idea behind Open Access is a simple one: research that has been financed
with public funds should be accessible to everybody and not only to
institutions that can afford to pay for increasingly expensive
subscriptions. A recent economics study has shown that Open Access
publication can save the Netherlands up to 133 million euros each year. This
does not need to have a detrimental effect on the quality of scientific and
scholarly research; after all, there are many different routes leading to
Open Access.



*Links*

   - Dutch Open Access website: www.openaccess.nl
   - National programme for Open Access week:
   www.surffoundation.nl/openaccess
   - International programme for Open Access week: www.openaccessweek.org
   - SURF statement about the concept of “open”: www.surf.nl/open
   - Economics study of savings through Open Access:
   www.surffoundation.nl/en/publicaties/Pages/CostsandBenefitsofOpenAccessPublicationlTheDutchSituation.aspx





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*About SURF*

SURF unites the Dutch research universities, universities of applied
sciences, and research institutions in creating pioneering ICT innovations,
thereby enabling them to make the best possible use of the opportunities
afforded by ICT and to excel in their education and research efforts. SURF
consists of three organisations: SURFfoundation, SURFnet and SURFdiensten.



*For more information, go to:*

SURF

Annemiek van der Kuil

T: +31 (0)30 234 6600

E: vanderkuil(at)surf.nl