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If the U.S. National Institutes of Health mandate could finally get passed, that’d be a very notable accomplishment. NIH is funds a whopping amount of research. It would be the first mandate for a public agency in the U.S., which makes it easier to argue for the policy to apply to other agencies, as well.
The impact of improving access will be greatest where access is currently poorest. For individuals affiliated with large, wealthy, first-world research institutions, there are still limitations on access to the literature, but much less so than with students at a community college, say, or with no academic affiliation. Open access will level the playing field here somewhat — the rising tide lifts all ships. (Except for those without a boat, which in this metaphor are people without Internet access or literacy, but those are much larger questions. People without Internet access can still reap some benefit of open access literature, since the lower permission barriers make reprints much more attractive.)
The ‘Except for those without a boat,’ argument has been a long standing one in many fields. ‘We can not’, more often ‘Will not’ help ‘X’ until ‘Y’ happens. I have always practiced the ‘Build it and they will come. . .’ model which has served our whole endeavor well.
As an analogy, allow me to relate a story which occurred some years ago: There was a toxic spill on the Fraser River in British Columbia which result in a major fish kill. When the situation got to court two years later it was at a time when a large number of the plaintiffs in the case were out on the fishing grounds and could not attend the hearing. The counsel for the defense attempted to delay the proceedings which did not sit well with the judge who heard about, and the ordered the implementation of a very unique, for its time, 1975, solution. A network was set up using the the Environment Canada Weatherfax network which distributed the daily reports from the court and allowed the plaintiffs to then advise counsel.
While this example is not directly related to Open Access, it illustrates that if the initiative is taken on one end, it will be met on the other. As I said before, Camp One exist because Open Access exists and not having a level field of access is no reason for not providing it, as the ROARMAP is a testament to.
RedSevenOne, to be clear, I wasn’t suggesting that because open access doesn’t solve every problem in the world, it’s not important. Just noting that we should not let enthusiasm get the better of our perspective and conflate open access to be the ticket to all knowledge and understanding. Open access is necessary, but not sufficient, for access to knowledge.
Gavin – I am in complete agreement with you. Open Access is one of many tools developed out of the maturing of the ‘net.
What I have a continuing issue with is the constant rehashing of ‘Who Pays. . .’
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