Comment on this issue
Who should have access to federally funded research? Researchers? Professors? Students? Taxpayers? Should research findings be freely available on the Internet? What would be the impact if colleagues in all fields could exchange information with the click of a mouse and without the barriers of membership, subscriptions,
or dues?

These questions have recently been brought to the forefront by the introduction of the Federal Research Public Access Act (FRPAA), a bill that would have eleven federal agencies, funding research across a broad spectrum of disciplines, require grant recipients to publish their work, online and free, within six months of publication elsewhere. Introduced in May by Senators John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Joseph Lieberman (D-Connecticut), the legislation aims to answer the growing concern that scholars, researchers, professionals, and the taxpaying public have limited access to significant research discoveries funded by federal agencies.

Last year alone, Colorado State University received more than $159 million in research funding from federal sources, leading to important advances in veterinary medicine, infectious disease, the treatment of debilitating illnesses, and more. Now, as the 2006 legislative session draws to a close, legislators on both sides of the aisle may push this bill to a floor vote. Advocates of the legislation see this bill as an opportunity to facilitate open exchange among researchers and rapidly increase the impact of research findings. Opponents have attacked the bill, claiming it is bad for research. This issue of Library Connection explores the fundamentals of the Federal Research Public Access Act (FRPAA) and asks: Who should have access to publicly funded research? And what would be the impact of this bill's passage on the CSU campus and beyond?