Guardian: Free access to British scientific research within two years

<http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/jul/15/free-access-british-scientific-research>

Free access to British scientific research within two years

   Radical shakeup of academic publishing will allow papers to be put
   online and be accessed by universities, firms and individuals

   The government is to unveil controversial plans to make publicly funded
   scientific [65]research immediately available for anyone to read for
   free by 2014, in the most radical shakeup of academic publishing since
   the invention of the [66]internet.

   Under the scheme, research papers that describe work paid for by the
   British taxpayer will be free online for universities, companies and
   individuals to use for any purpose, wherever they are in the world.

   In an interview with the Guardian before Monday's announcement
   [67]David Willetts, the universities and science minister, said he
   expected a full transformation to the open approach over the next two
   years.

   The move reflects a [68]groundswell of support for "open access"
   publishing among academics who have long protested that journal
   [69]publishers make large profits by locking research behind online
   paywalls. "If the taxpayer has paid for this research to happen, that
   work shouldn't be put behind a paywall before a British citizen can
   read it," Willetts said.

   "This will take time to build up, but within a couple of years we
   should see this fully feeding through."