OU conference mentioned for OA

From Open Access News:
Richard Johnson, Open Access: Unlocking the Value of Scientific Research, a preprint based on his presentation at the conference, The New Challenge for Research Libraries: Collection Management and Stratedgic Access to Digital Resources conference (University of Oklahoma Libraries, March 4-5, 2004). Excerpt: "As we saw with the remarkable international effort to address the SARS crisis in 2003, which relied on the Internet to achieve broad and rapid communication across a research community under the gun to achieve results, science advances most effectively when research results are freely, widely available. So the battle for open access is about more than change in the journal publishing industry. It is about the future of science and how best to maximize the societal benefits of our research investment....Today open access is still more of a goal than a business model. There are many particulars to be worked out, requiring shifts in longstanding traditions and adaptation by entrenched financial interests. But the fact that open access is risky for some at this early stage simply means that structural changes need to occur to support its effective implementation. Ultimately the discussion must move from 'why open access' to 'how do we best implement open access.' But the first step is acknowledgement among those charged with advancing knowledge --funding agencies and institutions of higher education, in particular-- that it is a goal worth striving for. Then we can move affirmatively toward systemic changes that will benefit the academic and research community, and society at large." Richard Johnson is the Enterprise Director of SPARC.