UO Libraries Supports New U.S. Policy Making Research Results Available Immediately

On August 25, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) updated U.S. policy guidance to make the results of taxpayer-supported research immediately available to the American public at no cost. UO Libraries Vice Provost and University Librarian Alicia Salaz sent a letter in support of that policy guidance to the White House, noting,

"The University of Oregon Libraries welcomes new policy guidance from the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy (OSTP) that strengthens U.S. policy on a global stage to advance the national innovation agenda."

Here’s the letter in full:

President Joseph R. Biden
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dr. Alondra Nelson
Office of Science and Technology Policy
Executive Office of the President
1650 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20504

August 29, 2022

Dear President Biden and Dr. Nelson:
On behalf of University of Oregon Libraries, I write today to extend our sincere gratitude and appreciation for the updated policy guidance issued by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) that will make taxpayer-funded research immediately available for the public to freely access and fully use. We applaud the administration for eliminating the current 12-month embargo on access to critical research outputs—both articles and data.

At the University of Oregon, a public R1, AAU institution, our scholars rely on access to the latest published and publicly funded research and data in critical areas such as climate, human performance, and children’s health, to produce 2,000 publications and petabytes of research data every year. Our Library spends millions of dollars of Oregon state tax dollars and student tuition dollars every year to buy back access to the research that our own faculty produce with federal dollars, because until now, we have had little choice.

With this action, OSTP advances a fairer, more equitable system of research that will benefit UO, our faculty, students, Oregon taxpayers, our country, and the world. Instead of buying back access to research that was already produced with public money, we will be able to invest more of our limited resources in ways that directly accelerate the research enterprise at the UO. The result will be faster progress toward solving behavioral health crises, mitigating climate and wildfire risks, and improving the human condition.

This policy guidance is the culmination of more than 15 years of steady progress. It provides a much-needed update to strengthen U.S. policy that will bring our country to equal footing with governments across the world that have established strong open access policies to promote their national innovation agendas.

We thank you for your steadfast leadership on this issue and stand ready to work with our community and your administration to support and implement this important policy guidance.

Sincerely,
Dr. Alicia M. Salaz
Vice Provost and University Librarian
University of Oregon Libraries