Wiki founder to build open access site for UK research | The Conversation

The project will begin with a “Gateway to Research” website that will act as a portal by linking to UK research. “Jimmy Wales will be advising us on the common standards that will have to be agreed and adopted for open access to be a success, and also helping to make sure that the new government-funded portal for accessing research really promotes collaboration and engagement,” Willetts wrote. A government source told The Guardian that Wales would eventually help to set up the next generation of open-access platforms for British researchers. “He’s also going to be advising us on the format in which academic papers should be published and data standards.” The initiative is expected to meet fierce resistance from the publishing industry. A handful of big publishers, including Elsevier, Wiley and Springer, own the overwhelming majority of academic journals and reap vast profits through their paywall models.