[Mla-cds] [Fwd: Please contact US Senators re NIH public access policy]

[Julie Schneider]

Just a reminder that we are encouraging people to contact their US 
Senators by phone or fax by Friday, September 28. Just two days away.
Please share this with as many colleagues as possible.
Thanks, Julie Schneider



*/ACRL Legislative Update/*
Volume 6, Number 6
September 14, 2007

*Full Senate considers NIH public access; opponents launch new tactics** *

/Current Status:/ The full Senate will consider the fiscal year (FY) 
2008 Appropriations soon. The Senate Appropriations Committee passed the 
FY 2008 Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill in late June that would 
require National Institutes of Health (NIH) investigators to make the 
results of funded research publicly accessible within 12 month of 
publication in peer-reviewed journals. We want to ensure that language 
stays in the bill when the full Senate reviews it. On July 19, the full 
House passed the FY08 appropriations bill with this language in. Now 
we’re in the home stretch and need your help getting this through the 
Senate.

For additional background on the issues around the NIH public access 
policy, listen to an interview 
<http://blogs.ala.org/districtdispatch.php> with Heather Joseph of 
SPARC, read the last three issues of ACRL’s Legislative Update 
<http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlissues/washingtonwatch/washingtonwatch.htm#update>, 
and go to the Alliance for Taxpayer Access 
<http://taxpayeraccess.org/nih.html> website. Also, read tips on making 
an effective visit, phone call or written communication to your Senator 
in the ALA library advocacy now action kit - ways to communicate 
<http://www.ala.org/ala/issues/toolsandpub/actionkit/legislatorsways.htm>.

/Related Developments: /An anti-open access lobbying effort was launched 
recently. “PRISM <http://www.prismcoalition.org/> – the Partnership 
for Research Integrity in Science and Medicine, supported by the 
Association of American Publishers, specifically targets efforts to 
expand public access to federally funded research results – including 
the NIH Public Access Policy. The core messages of PRISM, which is aimed 
at key policy makers, directly correspond to the PR campaign reportedly 
undertaken <http://www.nature.com/news/2007/070122/full/445347a.html> 
earlier this year. AAP publishers met with PR “pit bull” Eric 
Dezenhall who advised them to focus on simple messages, such as 
“public access equals government censorship” and suggested that 
“the publishers should attempt to equate traditional publishing models 
with peer review.”

The reaction against the launch of PRISM by the academic research 
community has been immediate and quite strong. (See the Chronicle of 
Higher Education 
<http://chronicle.com/subscribe/login?url=/daily/2007/09/2007091103n.htm> 
for a nice overview.) The launch of PRISM provides a timely opportunity 
for librarians to talk with faculty members, researchers, students, and 
administrators on important issues in scholarly communications. To 
assist in this conversation, the Association of Research Libraries has 
prepared a series of very useful talking points 
<http://www.arl.org/bm%7Edoc/issue-brief-aap-pr-prism.pdf>.

ALA, ARL and SPARC have also issued a joint brief 
<http://www.arl.org/bm%7Edoc/nih-copyright-july07.pdf> to address 
concerns that scientific publishers are gearing up to oppose the 
mandate, if passed, on copyright grounds. (Read more about this topic in 
LJ Academic Newswire 
<http://www.libraryjournal.com/info/CA6478190.html?nid=2673#news2>.)

/Action needed:/

   1. Fax both of your Senators ***no later than Friday, September 28,
      2007***. Urge them to maintain the language put forth by the
      Senate appropriations committee on the NIH public access policy.
      The Senate will undoubtedly be hearing from opponents and we want
      to be sure that supporters raise their voices loudly. Find talking
      points and contact info in the ALA Legislative Action Center
      <http://capwiz.com/ala/issues/alert/?alertid=10301446>.
   2. Ask library advocates in your state to talk to their Senators.
   3. Talk about this issue with leaders on your campus -- your
      government relations office, library advisory committee, faculty
      senate -- to enlist individual and institutional support.
   4. Send a thank you note if your Representative voted yes to pass the
      House appropriations bill (check the roll call
      <http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2007/roll686.xml>). Your legislators
      want to hear from you and need to know they did the right thing. 

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