Peter Suber, Open access as humanitarian aid

"On March 11, Japan suffered the largest known earthquake in its history and one of the five largest ever recorded. The resulting tsunami caused immense damage over 500 square kilometers (193 square miles). More than 11,800 people are confirmed dead and more than 15,500 still missing....[S]everal forms humanitarian assistance take the form of free online access to research....I'm not going to argue that TA publishers who make temporary sacrifices to provide OA during emergencies should make permanent sacrifices to provide OA all the time. I understand the distinction between emergencies and routine circumstances....But but but but. There's more to say on this subject. Here are four buts....But #4: Lifting access barriers in an emergency is a public acknowledgment that research is more useful when OA than when TA. It confirms what I've called the OA principle: the more knowledge matters, the more OA to that knowledge matters....When I give to the Red Cross in an emergency, I don't feel committed to do it every month. But I do feel blocked from arguing that donations to the Red Cross don't really help. Making that claim would be factually incorrect and personally inconsistent. Likewise publishers who provide free online access in an emergency are blocked from arguing that increased access isn't necessary or doesn't help, or that everyone who needs access already has access. Premise 1: There is an access problem. Working on solutions to this problem is not incendiary, but humanitarian in the broadest sense."