THE PROBLEM:

Every year, researchers -- including professors and students at schools like yours -- publish thousands of articles in academic journals. This research, about everything from medicine to agriculture to computer science, is largely funded by government grants. The professors research as part of their job duties and to advance science, but generally they don't get paid anything to publish their findings.

This research advances human understanding of all sorts of subjects. Unfortunately, far too often it's published in expensive journals and not available to the general public or to universities that simply can't afford costly subscriptions. Journal subscriptions have become more and more expensive, and it takes longer and longer for that knowledge to become accessible to those who need it most -- our professors, grad students, and researchers like us. This issue is critical: as students, now is the time to decide what we want the future of academics to look like.

Shouldn't the way we share research be as advanced as the Internet?

THE SOLUTION:

Today, Congress has the opportunity to improve access to vital information. The federal government is by far the biggest financial backer of scholarly research in the United States. If researchers were required to make their findings available online as a condition of funding, access to research could be greatly improved.

A bill introduced by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., would do just that. The Federal Research Public Access Act (FRPAA) would require research-funding agencies to ensure that the fruits of the research they fund are made available to every American. The bill is supported by scientists, librarians, and taxpayers at large; do you support it too?

Find out more using the links on this page. If you think we, as taxpayers, should have access to research funded by tax dollars, and that your college or university library should be able to have access to these resources, get involved!

Speak up! For more information:
www.taxpayeraccess.org
www.createchange.org
www.sciencecommons.org (read less)

THE PROBLEM:

Every year, researchers -- including professors and students at schools like yours -- publish thousands of articles in academic journals. This research, about everything from medicine to agriculture to computer science, is largely funded by government grants. The professors research as part of their job duties and to advance science, but generally they don't get paid anything to publish their findings.

This research advances human understanding of all sorts of subjects.... (read more)