Editorial: Support free access to journal articles

One of the benefits of going to a large research university is that Pitt students always have access to academic journals. When professors ask that students write papers, they know that the library’s database of articles is only a couple of clicks away. But when we leave Pitt, guaranteed access to many of these journals — much like Pitt email accounts, free copies of The New York Times and swipes into Market Central and Port Authority buses — will disappear.

So, what does a post-bachelor’s-degree 20-something do when the urge to read new peer-reviewed articles about genetics arises? Many public libraries also have access to journals, but they might not subscribe to the one that you’re interested in. The only choice that remains is to pay for online access to an article or an entire journal.

If you’ve ever been told that the only available copy of a TV show you want to watch is on Amazon Prime for $2, you know that paying for online content is maddening. Having to shell out cash for online materials is not just irritating — it can be unfair, because it makes the Internet a distinctly less democratic place. For those desiring a freer Internet, the open-access movement strives to provide free access to scholarly journal articles.

Recently, an open-access journal article petition on White House petitioning website We the People garnered 65,000 votes. The petition asked the government to require journals to release articles reporting on research funded by tax dollars to the public at no cost. For example, scientific articles written by Pitt faculty who received government grants would be available online to Pitt students — and everyone else using the Internet in the U.S. — for free, even after graduation.

The petition gathered enough signatures that it received federal notice, and the Obama administration has made it official policy. According to an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education, institutions affected by the new policy will be required to allow public access to journal articles within six months to one year of publication.

The open-access movement (and the similar open online education movement) are beneficial overall for higher education, because they allow a majority of people — not just an elite few — to access educational materials. It’s only logical, too, to mandate that people be allowed to see the research that their taxes go toward without having to go through a library or university that pays for a subscription.

There may be some stumbling blocks in the implementation of this policy. If publishers are offering content online for free, the costs associated with publication will be transferred to someone else: most likely the institutions attempting to publish articles. Also, the interfaces of most online journals are not currently equipped to allow people to easily search for free articles. A solution to this problem could be to aggregate all free, open-access, government-funded research articles into one government-affiliated database. That way, offering content for free would not necessarily replace the current system — libraries would likely still choose to subscribe to a whole journal — but it would act as a resource for people who do not have access to journals through the normal routes to access information.

Working out the details of such open-access policies will surely take time and require careful consideration. Even so, this step by the Obama administration to make available the results of publicly funded research studies can be viewed as an important opportunity for developing fair and sustainable sharing protocols and regulations that will make online materials helpful to the widest audience possible.