The movement for open access publication of scientific and technical literature received boosts from key U.S. and U.K. bodies in the past two weeks. First, the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee issued a recommendation that research funded by the National Institutes for Health (NIH) be offered for free on PubMedCentral six months after publication, or immediately if NIH funds were used for publication charges. Then, this week, the U.K. House of Commons Science and Technology Committee released a long-awaited report on journal prices and open access. Taking a similar approach, the committee urged that all research funded by government money be deposited in electronic archives available for free online. It is also recommending that the government fund a network of repositories for open access research, and provide centralized oversight. In Outsell's opinion, the funding question is the key to the success of open access. Until the foundations and public agencies that fund research fully commit to footing the bill for open access publication as part of their funding matrix, open access won't really take off. Both of these actions are a strong step in that direction, but "show me the money" is the name of the game.
