Parliament committee criticizes UK open-access policy

Nature : In July 2012 the UK government said that publicly funded research should be published with immediate free access, with the cost covered by money allocated to fund the research. A new report from the House of Commons’ Business, Innovation, and Skills Committee says the cost of that “gold” access model will have an unacceptable impact on the nation’s ability to conduct and publish research. The alternative “green” open-access policy adopted by the US and many other countries grants free access to research only after a period of 6 to 12 months of paid access. Gold access has regularly been criticized by researchers, librarians, and publishers. Despite the government’s call for gold access, Research Councils UK, which had originally mandated that 45% of UK research should have gold access in 2013, now allows for both gold and green access, with the choice left up to the researchers.