Cloud computing is a computing platform that resides in a large data center and is able to dynamically provide servers with the ability to address a wide range of needs, from scientific research to e-commerce. The provision of computing resources as if it were a utility such as electricity, while potentially revolutionary as a computing service, presents many major problems of information policy, including issues of privacy, security, reliability, access, and regulation. This article explores the nature and potential of cloud computing, the policy issues raised, and research questions related to cloud computing and policy. Ultimately, the policy issues raised by cloud computing are examined as a part of larger issues of public policy attempting to respond to rapid technological evolution.

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Cloud Computing and Information Policy: Computing in a Policy Cloud?

Ongoing debates surrounding Open Access to the scholarly literature are multifaceted and complicated by disparate and often polarised viewpoints from engaged stakeholders. At the current stage, Open Access has become such a global issue that it is critical for all involved in scholarly publishing, including policymakers, publishers, research funders, governments, learned societies, librarians, and academic communities, to be well-informed on the history, benefits, and pitfalls of Open Access. In spite of this, there is a general lack of consensus regarding the potential pros and cons of Open Access at multiple levels. This review aims to be a resource for current knowledge on the impacts of Open Access by synthesizing important research in three major areas: academic, economic and societal. While there is clearly much scope for additional research, several key trends are identified, including a broad citation advantage for researchers who publish openly, as well as additional benefits to the non-academic dissemination of their work. The economic impact of Open Access is less well-understood, although it is clear that access to the research literature is key for innovative enterprises, and a range of governmental and non-governmental services. Furthermore, Open Access has the potential to save both publishers and research funders considerable amounts of financial resources, and can provide some economic benefits to traditionally subscription-based journals. The societal impact of Open Access is strong, in particular for advancing citizen science initiatives, and leveling the playing field for researchers in developing countries. Open Access supersedes all potential alternative modes of access to the scholarly literature through enabling unrestricted re-use, and long-term stability independent of financial constraints of traditional publishers that impede knowledge sharing. However, Open Access has the potential to become unsustainable for research communities if high-cost options are allowed to continue to prevail in a widely unregulated scholarly publishing market. Open Access remains only one of the multiple challenges that the scholarly publishing system is currently facing. Yet, it provides one foundation for increasing engagement with researchers regarding ethical standards of publishing and the broader implications of 'Open Research'.

The academic, economic and societal impacts of Open Access: an evidence-based review

Scholarly publishing is on the verge of a drastic change from print journals to electronic ones. Although this change has been predicted for a long time, trends in technology and growth in the literature are making this transition inevitable. It is likely to occur in a few years, and is likely to be sudden. This article surveys the pressures that are leading to the impending change, and makes predictions about the future of journals, publishers, and libraries. The new electronic publishing methods are likely to improve greatly scholarly communication, partially through more rapid publication, but also through wider dissemination and a variety of novel features that cannot be implemented with the present print system, such as references in a paper to later papers that cite it.

Tragic loss or good riddance? The impending demise of traditional scholarly journals

An argument for extending the circulation of knowledge with new publishing technologies considers scholarly, economic, philosophical, and practical issues.

The access principle: The case for open access to research

Does free access to journal articles result in greater diffusion of scientific knowledge? Using a randomized controlled trial of open access publishing, involving 36 participating journals in the sciences, social sciences, and humanities, we report on the effects of free access on article downloads and citations. Articles placed in the open access condition (n=712) received significantly more downloads and reached a broader audience within the first year, yet were cited no more frequently, nor earlier, than subscription-access control articles (n=2533) within 3 yr. These results may be explained by social stratification, a process that concentrates scientific authors at a small number of elite research universities with excellent access to the scientific literature. The real beneficiaries of open access publishing may not be the research community but communities of practice that consume, but rarely contribute to, the corpus of literature.—Davis, P. M. Open access, readership, citations: a randomized cont...

Open access, readership, citations: a randomized controlled trial of scientific journal publishing

Electronic publication has changed the relationship between publisher and scientist. This Policy Forum argues, because Federally-supported science is a public good, that authors of works based on such support should retain copyright, and issue licenses to their publishers.

Who Should Own Scientific Papers

University libraries and scholarly communication

The Electronic Journal: What, Whence, and When?

This article rewiews past trends regarding electronic resources and publishing on the Internet, analyzes critical issues involving electronic resources, and makes predictions for the years 2000 through 2005. Important developments are reviewed on a year-to-year basis from 1991 through 1998/99. Archiving, usage, utility, and copyright are identified as key issues, while licensing is also covered.

Ann Okerson

Papers

Who Should Own Scientific Papers

University libraries and scholarly communication

The Electronic Journal: What, Whence, and When?

Are We There Yet? Online E-Resources Ten Years After.

The Nonsubscription Side of Periodicals: Changes in Library Operations and Costs between Print and Electronic Formats.