For the first time ever, the Internet offers the possibility of making knowledge universally accessible. As a result, publishing practices and the system of quality assurance used thus far in the sciences and the humanities are expected to undergo considerable changes. In signing the "Berlin Declaration", the research organizations advocate consistently using the Internet for scientific communication and publishing. Their recommendations in favor of open access are directed not only at research institutions but also and to the same extent at cultural institutes such as libraries, archives, and museums.

The Berlin Declaration states that, "Establishing open access as a worthwhile procedure ideally requires the active commitment of each and every individual producer of scientific knowledge and holder of cultural heritage". Open access contributions include original scientific research results, raw and metadata as well as source materials and digital representations of pictorial and graphical materials. The authors and right holders grant to all users a free, irrevocable, and universal right of access to these contributions and allow their work to be used, reproduced, or disseminated in digital form (provided correct attribution of authorship or copyright owner is given). Together with supplemental materials and the declaration of the right of use, the complete version of the work is to be made accessible in at least one electronic online archive. Such an archive can be maintained by academic institutions and federal or private organizations that subscribe to the principles of open access to and long-term archiving of publication material.

The signatories of the Berlin Declaration intend to make progress by
- encouraging their researchers or grant recipients to publish their work according to the principles of open access
- encouraging cultural institutions to support open access by providing their resources on the Internet
- developing means and ways to evaluate open access contributions in
order to maintain the standards of quality assurance and good scientific practice, and by
- advocating that such publications be recognized in promotion and tenure evaluation.
>from *Science and Culture Accessible to all Internet Users*. "Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities" signed. October 22, 2003

related context
> conference on open access to knowledge in the sciences and humanities. max planck society for the advancement of science. berlin, october 20-22, 2003
> will u.s. sanctions have chilling effect on scholarly publishing? by jean kumagai. treasury department ruling puts IEEE on the spot, but could affect other groups, too. IEEE spectrum online, october 15, 2003
> why public library of science became a publisher. october 13, 2003
> xenophobia may slow scientific progress. june 6, 2003
> science commons: building a free flow of knowledge. march 15, 2002
> budapest open access initiative: open access to scholarly journal literature. february 18, 2002

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