It’s FRPAA time! Pro-open access legislation introduced in House and Senate

“Yesterday members in both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives introduced identical bills  with bipartisan support aimed at improving access to federally funded research.  In the House, the Federal Research Public Access Act of 2012 (or FRPAA) (H.R. 4004) was introduced... If passed, the Federal Research Public Access Act of 2012 would: [1] Require federal departments and agencies with an annual extramural research budget of $100 million to develop a policy to ensure researchers submit an electronic copy of the final manuscript accepted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. [2] Ensure that the manuscript is preserved in a stable digital repository maintained by that agency or in another suitable repository that permits free public access, interoperability, and long-term preservation. [3] Require that each taxpayer-funded manuscript be made available to the public online and without cost, no later than six months after the article has been published in a peer-reviewed journal... our patrons, the American public, should not have to fund federal research with their tax dollars and then have to pay for it again to access it.  The ALA has been a long-time, ardent supporter of increasing access to information of all types, including federally funded research... To learn more see the recently updated NIH Public Access Policy (pdf) fact sheet, as well as the NIH policy overview)... you can read more about the ALA’s strong opposition to the bill [Research Works Act] in my recent District Dispatch post on January 9, 2012, titled Trying to roll back the clock on Open Access: Research Works Act introduced.”