LERU launches Open Access Roadmap

LERU, the League of European Research Universities, has published its Roadmap Towards Open Access. At a launch event on Friday 17th June 2011 in Brussels, chaired by Professor Kurt Deketelaere, Secretary-General of LERU, the document was introduced by Dr paul Ayris, Librarian at University College London. The Roadmap was developed by a group of people mainly from LERU member universities, and covers the case for Open Access, provides practical steps for universities to take to achieve it, and cites examples of good practice from LERU institutions. Responses to the Roadmap were made by Dr Carlos Morais-Pires, representating the Directorate General Information Society and Media at the European Commission, Dr Caroline Sutton from Co_Action Publishing and president of the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association, Mr Wouter Schallier, Executive Director, Association of European Research Libraries (LIBER), and Dr Alma Swan, representing Enabling Open Scholarship (EOS).

Alma said, " EOS welcomes this Roadmap. The overall perspective is especially welcome. EOS sets its work in the context of open scholarship, the effort that creates open knowledge. In a time when universities around the world, including in Europe, are faced with perhaps unprecedented financial challenges in an uncertain global economic environment, the extent to which they contribute to society in terms of knowledge creation and transfer of that knowledge is paramount. In all parts of the world where our [EOS] universities operate there is an ambition to create knowledge-based societies where innovation can flourish. This is the time for opening up and showing the world what they can do."

The full EOS response is here.