SPARC comment-Australia

THE SCHOLARLY PUBLISHING & ACADEMIC RESOURCES COALITION 21 Dupont Circle NW, Suite 800 Washington, DC 20036 USA TEL: +202 296 2296 FAX: +202 872 0884 URL: www.arl.org/sparc December 20, 2006 Public Support for Science and Innovation Productivity Commission PO Box 80 Belconnen ACT 2616 Australia Via e-mail to science@pc.gov.au Dear Sir or Madam: I am writing on behalf of SPARC (the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition) to comment on the Productivity Commission’s November 2006 draft report on “Public Support for Science and Innovation.” Our remarks focus on policies regarding access to peer-reviewed papers and associated data, which are discussed in section 5.7 (Impediments to the functioning of the innovation system: Scientific publishing) of the report. The focus of that finding corresponds closely to the arena in which SPARC’s focus and experience are deepest. SPARC is an international alliance of academic and research libraries and organizations, including the Council of Australian University Librarians. We have been at the forefront of advocacy for public access to research funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health and have been closely involved in development of the pending Federal Research Public Access Act, introduced in the United States Senate during 2006. SPARC views the dissemination of research findings as an essential, inseparable component of the research process itself. As I am sure you ...