Overview of the House of Commons Science and Technology Select Committee inquiry into Scientific Publications

Based on an introductory paper presented at the UKSG seminar 'Scientific Publications: Free for all?', The Geological Society, London, Tuesday 23 November 2004 The Science and Technology Select Committee is appointed by the House of Commons to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the Office of Science and Technology (OST) and its associated bodies. OST has a responsibility for science across Government, thus the Committee's remit is similarly broad. The Committee published its Report, Scientific Publications: Free for all? , on Tuesday 20 July 2004. The Report looked at the current market for scientific publications from the perspective of publishers, libraries and end-users. The Committee had two main findings. The first was that the UK Government should help to co-ordinate and fund the establishment of an inter-linked network of institutional repositories, and that publicly funded researchers should be mandated to deposit a copy of each of their research papers in this way. The second was that the Government should encourage further experimentation with the 'author pays' publishing model. The Committee published the Government Response to its Report on 8 November 2004, alongside a further short Committee Report and responses from other organizations.