European Commission report

[Ray English <Ray.English@oberlin.edu>]

The announcement below is at:

http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/infocentre/article_en.cfm?id=/comm/
research/press/2006/pr3103en.cfm&item=Infocentre&artid=1638

There's also a link to a PDF version of the full report at the end.

Ray English
Director of Libraries
Oberlin College

Commission study addresses Europe's scientific publication system

The European Commission is today publishing a study which 
examines the scientific publication system in Europe. Scientific 
publication ensures that research results are made known, which 
is a pre-condition for further research and for turning this 
knowledge into innovative products and services.

Scientific publication is also an important part of certifying 
the quality of the work done. Given the scarcity of public money 
to provide access to scientific publications, there is a strong 
interest in seeing that Europe has an effective and functioning 
system for scientific publication that speedily delivers results 
to a wide audience. Today's report, drawn up for the Commission 
by a panel of experts, makes a number of recommendations for 
future action, including improving access to publicly-funded 
research. All interested parties are invited to send feedback on 
the report's findings to the Commission, to provide input for a 
conference on scientific publication to be held in autumn 2006. 
[Report cover background - click for a medium-resolution picture]

European Science and Research Commissioner, Janez Potonik said, 
'It is in all our interests to find a model for scientific 
publication that serves research excellence. We are ready to work 
with readers, authors, publisher and funding bodies to develop 
such a model.'

The study looked at the economic and technical evolution of 
scientific publication markets in Europe. It was commissioned as 
a contribution to on-going public debate on the conditions of 
access to and dissemination of scientific publications. There 
have been significant changes in the landscape over the last 30 
years, in particular the rise of internet use. The study confirms 
scientific journals as an essential channel for the dissemination 
of scientific knowledge. With large amounts of public money 
invested in research, it becomes increasingly important for 
publications reporting on that research to be accessible to as 
wide a public as possible.

The study therefore makes a number of recommendations for future 
action, including:

     * Guaranteed public access to publicly-funded research, at 
the time of publication and also long-term

     * A 'level-playing field' so that different business models 
in publishing can compete fairly in the market

     * Ranking scientific journals by quality, defined more 
widely than pure scientific excellence, but also taking into 
account factors such as management of copyright, search 
facilities and archiving

     * Developing pricing strategies that promote competition in 
the journal market

     * Scrutinising major mergers that may take place in this 
sector in the future

     * Promoting the development of electronic publication, for 
example by eliminating unfavourable tax treatment of electronic 
publications and encouraging public funding and public-private 
partnerships to create digital archives in areas with little 
commercial investment.

The European Commission is keen to hear the views of all 
interested parties. It is therefore calling for reactions to the 
study, and contributions on other issues linked to scientific 
publications. Contributions should be sent to 
rtd-scientific-publication@cec.eu.int by 1st June 2006.

The study and its public feedback will be at the centre of a 
conference on scientific publication to be held in autumn 2006. 
SINAPSE, the web interface between the scientific community and 
Europe's policy-makers, will also host a debate on the subject. 
(SINAPSE's website: http://europa.eu.int/sinapse)

The study was carried out by a consortium led by Professor 
Mathias Dewatripont of the Universite Libre de Bruxelles. The 
study is available for downloading at:

http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/science-society/pdf/scientific-
publication-study_en.pdf

####