Discussion with Jean-Claude Guédon, Professor of Comparative Literature, Université de Montréal

142nd ARL Membership Meeting
Concurrent Discussions Session
May 16, 2003

The Open Society Institute (OSI) is part of the Soros foundations network-a group of autonomous institutions dedicated to facilitating open and democratic societies, in part through promoting innovative information technology projects. The OSI Information Program is committing funding of one million U.S. dollars per year for three years in support of open access projects. Funding will include support for:

• the development of business models and plans for sustainable self-archiving and open access publishing;
• use of library networks (like the Electronic Information for Libraries consortium, currently covering 40 countries-see http://www.eifl.net/) to mobilize support for open access globally;
• support for researchers in low- and middle-income countries to publish in open access journals that charge up-front fees;
• development of software tools and templates for open access publishing, self-archiving, indexing, and navigation; and
• promotion of the open access philosophy among foundations and donors, science and research funding agencies, libraries, and universities, as well as governments, policymakers, and international organizations worldwide.

Professor Guédon is a member of the Information Sub-Board of OSI's Board of Directors as well as a member of the Board of the eIFL consortium (Electronic Information for Libraries). He will bring current information on new strategies for pursuing open access, most notably with the academies of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union and in China, and then lead a discussion on how North American research libraries might support and build on such efforts.