BY JOHN OBER
UCOP News Service

University of California faculty now have an alternative for publishing peer-reviewed research papers that does not rely on subscription charges or the transfer of copyright from author to publisher, as is the case with most scientific journals.

BioMed Central (BMC), an “open access” publisher, and the California Digital Library (CDL) recently announced that UC has joined the publisher’s Institutional Membership Program. BMC is an independent online publishing house committed to providing immediate free access to peer-reviewed biological and medical research.

Under the agreement, processing fees normally charged authors or their institutions are being waived for UC faculty who submit an article for publication in one of BMC’s 80 peer-reviewed journals. Upon acceptance, the article becomes freely available through the Web to readers worldwide.

“We are delighted to be able to offer this alternative method of publishing to the UCLA community through the CDL,” said Alison Bunting, UCLA’s interim university librarian. “BioMed Central combines the quality of peer-reviewed journals and the speed of online publication with open access to researchers around the world via the Web.

“Furthermore, the author retains copyright and can continue to circulate his or her research through other means,” Bunting continued, “and the economy of UC-wide membership enables all UC libraries to make this resource available while conserving limited acquisition funds.”

Scholarly communication is in crisis because expensive subscription charges are restricting access to the latest scientific developments, according to UC officials. The difficulty in accessing scientific information is especially frustrating, given that taxpayers fund much of this work through grants and public university salaries.

Scholars publishing in BMC’s journals, however, are ensured widespread dissemination of their work. Dozens of papers written or co-written by more than 130 UC scholars, including UCLA faculty, have already appeared in BMC journals.

UC’s collaboration with BMC is being coordinated and supported by the California Digital Library’s eScholarship program. BMC has more than 50 member institutions, including Harvard and Princeton universities, the Institut Pasteur and the World Health Organization.