Proponents of open-access publishing, in which research papers become freely available on the Web after appearing in a peer-reviewed journal, have scored another victory. The first was the creation four years ago of PubMed Central, an NIH-funded Web repository. In July, egged on by open-access advocates, the House Appropriations Committee recommended that NIH develop a method by which all papers based on NIH-funded research would become freely available. NIH’s response amounts to converting PubMed Central from a voluntary archive to a mandatory one.

Publishers of some journals allow their content to appear in PubMed Central, but many, fearing loss of flexibility in their business models, have been critical of mandated open access. Recent technology investments, new nimble competitors such as online-only journals, and the high cost of peer review, have squeezed profit margins across the industry.

Librarians, by contrast, tend to welcome open access because they believe it will save...

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