The Australasian Open Access Strategy Group (AOASG) and the Council of Australian University Librarians (CAUL) welcome Dr Cathy Foley’s speech today, 17 March 2021, at the National Press Club noting her interest in an Open Access Strategy in Australia.
Dr Foley set out a compelling vision for the importance of collaboration and knowledge exchange in accelerating research, and this is a vision that both organisations fully support.
The willingness of Dr Foley to champion a national open access strategy will provide critical impetus to drive forward the agenda for open access to research, the foundations of which have been laid over the past 20 years. Developing a national strategy will ensure that Australia is well placed to make sure that Australian research can fully participate in the global research ecosystem.
Martin Borchert, Chair of AOASG said, “Having a national approach to open access will strengthen opportunities for collaboration nationally and globally, and, combined with other approaches to open research, will maximise the interoperability and translation of Australia’s research outputs.”
Jill Benn, Chair of CAUL said, “Ensuring open access to research is essential for enabling the translation of research into new discoveries and innovations. CAUL welcomes the Chief Scientist’s commitment to open access for Australian research and looks forward to assisting in progressing this aim. Open access is also vital to ensure that all Australians have equitable access to the latest high quality information generated through publicly-funded research, and not just those associated with institutions that pay significant fees, such as university libraries.”
CAUL and AOASG fully agree that “Access to information is the great enabler for innovation and for research commercialisation.” We look forward to working with Dr Foley and colleagues across the research sector on this important initiative.
About Australasian Open Access Strategy Group
The Australasian Open Access Strategy Group (AOASG) is supported by twenty universities in Australia and eight in New Zealand; Creative Commons Australia and Tohatoha, New Zealand are affiliate members. AOASG works to make Australasian research Open and FAIR ( Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable) and to promote innovation in all areas of scholarly communications.
Contact: Dr Virginia Barbour – Director, AOASG eo@aoasg.org.au http://www.aoasg.org.au
About Council of Australian University Librarians
CAUL is the peak leadership organisation for university libraries in Australia. CAUL members are the University Librarians or equivalent of the 39 institutions that have representation on Universities Australia and the 8 members of the Council of New Zealand University Librarians (CONZUL). CAUL makes a significant contribution to higher education strategy, policy and outcomes through a commitment to a shared purpose: To transform how people experience knowledge – how it can be discovered, used and shared.
Contact: Jill Benn, Chair of CAUL caul@caul.edu.au http://www.caul.edu.au