Harvard’s Open-Access Repository Is Going Where No Repository Has Gone Before

"Harvard’s open-access repository, DASH (Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard), is now participating in Outernet, a new start-up broadcasting free content by satellite to every part of the globe. Outernet reaches users who don’t have conventional Internet access and users subject to censorship from conventional Internet service providers. DASH is run by the Harvard Library’s Office for Scholarly Communication (OSC), and already provides free online access to peer-reviewed scholarly articles by Harvard faculty. But until now, it only reached users connected to the conventional Internet. When Outernet launched in September, it included 10 articles from DASH. If both sides are happy with the result, then they will scale up to include all eligible DASH content. DASH is the first university open-access repository and first scholarly resource to take part in Outernet. During the present pilot project, and later if they scale up, Harvard will not pay Outernet and Outernet will not pay Harvard. Outernet’s end users will never have to pay to receive this content ..."