Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council and the European Economic and Social Committee on scientific information in the digital age: access, dissemination and preservation {SEC(2007)181}
Date: 2007-02-14
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU research policy, Internet, access to information, dissemination of information, information technology, scientific research

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 14.2.2007 
COM(2007) 56 final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE 

on scientific information in the digital age: access, dissemination and preservation 

{SEC(2007)181} 

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COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE 

on scientific information in the digital age: access, dissemination and preservation 

1. 

INTRODUCTION 

The  present  Communication  comes  from  two  policy  strands,  the  i2010  digital  libraries 
initiative  and  the  Community  policy  on  research.  The  digital  libraries  initiative  aims  to 
make information more  accessible  and usable in the digital  environment. It follows  up  on a 
letter of 28 April 2005 by six Heads of State and Government asking the Commission to take 
necessary steps to improve access to Europe's cultural and scientific1 heritage. 

The  Community  policy  on  research  looks  to  maximise  the  socio-economic  benefits  of 
research  and  development  for  the  public  good.  The  present  Communication  represents  an 
initial  step  within  a  wider  policy  process  addressing  how  the  scientific  publication  system 
functions and what impact it has on research excellence. It comes at a strategic moment for 
European  research  with  the  launch  of  the  Seventh  Framework  Programme  (FP7)  for  2007-
2013  and  the  forthcoming  Communication  on  developing  the  European  Research  Area 
(ERA). 

This  Communication's  objective  is  to  signal  the  importance  of  and  launch  a  policy 
process  on  (a)  access  to  and  dissemination  of  scientific  information2,  and  (b)  strategies 
for the preservation of scientific information across the Union. To this end, it announces a 
series of measures at European level and points to the need for a continuing policy debate.  

These  issues  have  a  direct  impact  on  Europe's  capacity  to  compete  through  knowledge,  a 
determining factor to reach the goals of the Lisbon agenda for competitiveness. 

2. 

THE IMPORTANCE OF SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION 

In  order  to  become  an  increasingly  competitive  knowledge-based  economy,  Europe  must 
improve the production of knowledge through research, its dissemination through education, 
and its application through  innovation.  All  research builds on former work, and depends on 
scientists’ possibilities to access and share scientific publications and research data. The rapid 
and  widespread  dissemination  of  research  results  can  help  accelerate  innovation  and  avoid 
duplication  of  research  efforts,  although  some  delay  for  the  first  use  by  researchers  or  for 
commercial  purposes  can  be  justified.  The  system  by  which  scientific  information  is 
published  is  pivotal  for  its  certification  and  dissemination,  and  thus  has  a  major  impact  on 
research funding policies and on the excellence of European research. 

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2 

In  this  Communication,  the  terms  "scientific"  or  "science"  refer  to  research  activity  in  all  scholarly 
subjects, including social sciences and the humanities. 
For the purposes of this Communication, ‘scientific information’ comprises publications and research 
data. 

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Public  authorities  fund  around  one  third  of  European  research3  and  therefore  have  a  clear 
interest  in  optimising  the  scientific  information  system.  The  stakes  for  the  European 
Community are high: between 2007 and 2013, the Community will invest some €50 billion in 
FP7. 

3. 

ACCESS TO AND DISSEMINATION OF SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION IN THE DIGITAL AGE 

3.1. 

A system in transition: new markets, services and players 

The  rapidly  increasing  use  of  digital  content  in  research  and  in  the  dissemination  of 
knowledge  is  a  main  characteristic  of  modern  science.  The  Internet  makes  instant  access  to 
and dissemination of scientific information possible and new information and communication 
tools  offer  innovative  ways  to  add  value.  They  have  opened  up  new  ways  to  use  masses  of 
data  resulting  from  experiments  and  observations  in  the  scientific  process  and  to  extract 
meaning from this data stored in repositories in combination with other scientific information 
resources.  This  leads  to  a  "continuum"  of  the  scientific  information  space  from  raw  data  to 
publications across different communities and countries. 

Scientific  journals  traditionally  hold  a  central  role  within  the  scientific  information  system. 
They are a vehicle for spreading research results and have a considerable impact on scientists' 
careers.  The  peer  review  process  underpinning  the  selection  of  journal  articles  is  its  main 
quality control mechanism. 

Technological change offers tremendous opportunities for Europe's scientific publishers. Over 
the  past  years,  scientific  publishers  and  other  actors  have  made  substantial  investments  in 
information technologies for online delivery, in the retro-digitisation of content, and in added-
value services. About 90% of all science journals are now available online, in many cases via 
a subscription. 

There  are  some  2  000  scientific  journal  publishers  globally,  producing  about  1.4 
million  articles  a  year.  Some  780  of  these  publishers  are  located  in  the  EU, 
producing  49%  of  the  total  journal  output.  They  employ  some  36  000  persons 
directly in the EU and have a strong position in the world market. 

An important recent trend has been the development of the open access movement, based on 
the viewpoint that access to publications and data should be improved in the Internet age. This 
movement aims to ensure immediate and free Internet access to research publications. A key 
milestone within this movement is the 2003 Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge 
in the Sciences and Humanities. 

According to the Berlin Declaration, Open Access publication requires that authors 
grant  free  access  to  their  scientific  contributions,  as  well  as  the  possibility  to  use 
them,  subject  to  proper  attribution  of  authorship.  Moreover,  a  complete  version  of 
the  work  and  supplemental  materials  should  be  deposited  in  at  least  one  online 
repository. 196 research institutions have signed the declaration, which is still open 
for signature. 

The Open Access movement has resulted in publishers experimenting with the ‘author pays’ 
business  model,  which  allows  free  online  access  to  readers.  This  business  model  shifts 

3 

References backing up this statement and figures used in this document, as well as key definitions, can 
be found in the Commission staff working paper accompanying the present Communication. 

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publishing  costs  from  the  reader  to  the  author,  i.e.  the  author’s  institution  or  funding  body. 
There are also increasing numbers of so-called hybrid journals offering both reader pay and 
author  pay  solutions.  Another  model  currently  being  experimented  with  foresees  a  critical 
mass  of  journals in a specific area moving towards open access, under the sponsorship of a 
consortium  of  funding  bodies.  An  example  is  the  Sponsoring  Consortium  for  Open  Access 
Publishing in Particle Physics led by CERN, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research. 
At present, open access journals account for about 10% of total journal output. 

A  further  development  is  the  deposit  of  peer-reviewed  and/or  not  yet  peer-reviewed  journal 
articles in freely accessible repositories organised by institution or discipline. In some cases, 
deposit  occurs  after  an  embargo  period  during  which  publishers  can  get  a  return  on  their 
investment  (e.g.  Cairn  in  France/Belgium).  The  length  of  the  embargo  period  may  vary 
between disciplines. 

Some  research  funding  agencies  are  active  in  developing  policies  recommending  or 
mandating publication in open repositories of journal articles resulting from the research that 
they fund. Prominent examples are the Wellcome Trust and the National Institutes of Health. 
In  the  US  Senate,  a  draft  bill  was  recently  introduced  providing  for  federal  agencies  to 
develop public access policies. 

The trends described have led to a debate on the scientific information system, with a focus on 
scientific journal articles. The key arguments used by stakeholders are summarised below. 

Main arguments of researchers, research organisations, funding bodies, and libraries 

•  Open  access  can  increase  the  impact  of  scientific  research  and  innovation  through 

improved access to and rapid dissemination of research results. 

•  The Internet should bring the costs of scientific publications down, but journal prices have 

increased. This affects access to scientific information. 

•  The  public  purse  pays  for  research,  peer  review  (through  reviewers’  salaries),  and 
journals  (e.g.  through  library  budgets).  It  is  natural  that  public  actors  should  request  a 
better return on their investment. 

Main arguments of publishers 

•  There is no access problem. Access to scientific information has never been better. 

•  Publishing  has  a  cost.  Publishers  add  considerable  value  to  the  research  process  by 

guaranteeing the quality of journal articles in the most efficient way possible. 

•  The publishing market is highly competitive and does not require public intervention. An 
ill-conceived intervention may lead to ‘implosion’ of the current system without offering a 
clear and viable alternative. 

3.2. 

Issues and challenges 

Organisational issues 

A  shift  in  the  type  of  publishing  business  model  commonly  used  may  entail  unforeseen 
organisational  consequences.  For  example,  in  an  'author  pays'  model,  costs  for  accessing 
research results are shifted from one part of the public institution (the library) to another (e.g. 
university  departments).  This  may  lead  to  transitional  costs  or  to  a  temporary  gap  in  the 
accessibility of scientific information. 

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The  emergence  of  increasing  numbers  of  repositories  containing  not  only  peer-reviewed 
articles, but also working papers, PhD theses, research data, etc raises further issues. 

An example of this integrated approach is the DARE programme in the Netherlands. 
Its  objective  is  to  provide  networked  free  access  to  the  academic  output  from  all 
universities. The basic infrastructure currently includes more than 100.000 scientific 
reports  and  research  articles,  and  in  a  later  phase  will  include  experimental  or 
observational data, and other digital objects such as video- and audio-files. 

Digital repositories promise new and integrated sources of information and are increasingly a 
strategic infrastructure in support of research. They require considerable organisational effort 
in  relation  to  issues  such  as:  who  is  responsible  for  depositing  the  material?  How  can  the 
quality  of  repositories  and  of  repository  content  (e.g.  version  management)  be  guaranteed? 
And how can repositories within Europe be linked to arrive at a critical mass of information? 

Legal issues 

When  publishing  scientific  articles  in  journals  authors  normally  assign  their  rights  to 
publishers.  Publishers  then  provide  for  the  dissemination  of  these  articles  with  an  aim  of 
ensuring  a  return  on  their  investment.  It  has  been  suggested  by  researchers,  funding  bodies 
and  libraries  that  current  contractual  practices  can  have  a  negative  impact  on  access  and 
dissemination  and  need  to  be  reflected  upon.  The  aim  here  is  not  the  introduction  of 
Community  rules  on  copyright  contract  law  –  an  area  which  has  not  been  harmonised  at 
Community  level – but a  reflection on  the  way in  which authors exercise their rights in the 
digital environment. 

In  the  case  of  research  data,  the  intellectual  property  right  (IPR)  issue  is  different.  While 
research data as such are not protected by IPRs, Directive 96/9/EC on the legal protection of 
databases4  protects  efforts  in  organising  research  data.  In  this  context,  concerns  have  been 
raised about the impact of the sui generis right of protection for non-original databases on the 
accessibility of scientific research data.5 

In  case  personal  data  is  processed  or  disseminated  in  this  context,  access  to  and  use  of  this 
data should respect the rules on the protection of personal data as laid out in EU Directives 
95/46/EC and 2002/58/EC.6 

Technical issues 

Technological  progress  can  greatly  contribute  to  the  accessibility  and  use  of  scientific 
information.  For  example,  better  search  tools  can  help  researchers  find  information  and 
progress in new areas and collaborative tools can enhance the way in which researchers share 
information. 

In  order  to  link  digital  repositories  and  make  them  searchable,  interoperability  issues  also 
need to be addressed systematically. In this respect, the use of open standards is crucial. 

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6 

OJ L 77, 27.3.1996, p. 20. 
See the 2005 evaluation report on the Directive by DG MARKT 
http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/copyright/docs/databases/evaluation_report_en.pdf. 
OJ L 281, 23.11.1995, p. 31, and L 201, 31.7.2002, p.37. 

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Financial issues 

Over  the  last  twenty  years,  journal  subscription  prices  have  on  average  increased  above 
inflation  level  -  according  to  one  study  4.5%  per  year  above  inflation  -  while  there  are 
considerable  differences  according  to  disciplines  and  journals.  This  has  put  publicly  funded 
libraries, their main clients, under financial pressure and led to subscription cancellations in 
certain  cases.  This  is  particularly  acute  for  less  well-endowed  institutions  and  in  countries 
with  lower  income  levels.  Publishers  argue  that  price  increases  are  due  to  the  growth  in 
numbers of articles submitted and the increasing volume of journals, and that they are linked 
to a higher usage rate. 

At the same time, the increase in research budgets has outpaced the funding of research result 
dissemination  -  today  less  than  1%  of  total  European  R&D-expenditure  -  including  the 
available budgets of libraries. Publishers have responded by offering ‘big deals’ (bundling of 
journals  for  a  discounted  price)  to  libraries  and  to  library  consortia.  These  have  benefited 
research  organisations  across  Europe,  but  have  also  introduced  the  new  problem  of  library 
budgets becoming inflexible through multi-year and relatively rigid contracts. 

A further financial issue is that of value added tax (VAT) for digital products. Across Europe, 
digital journals are subject to standard rate VAT while paper journals benefit from a reduced 
rate.  Thus  the  same  content  triggers  a  different  VAT  rate  depending  on  the  medium. 
Moreover,  in  view  of  the  current  rules  concerning  exemptions,  public  authorities  and 
subsidies,  public  research  institutes  and  libraries  cannot  deduct  VAT  costs.  To  address  this 
situation, some Member States refund VAT for digital journal subscriptions to libraries. 

4. 

PRESERVATION IN THE DIGITAL AGE 

4.1. 

The problem 

Long  term  preservation  of  digital  material  is  a  central  problem  for  the  information  society, 
which  features  an  exponentially  growing  and  increasingly  dynamic  supply  of  information. 
Digital  information  is  unstable  due  to  rapid  changes  of  hardware  and  software,  and  to  the 
limited  lifetime  of  storage  devices.  Information  needs  to  be  preserved  in  order  to  keep  it 
readable and usable for the future. This challenge was signalled in the Communication 'i2010: 
digital libraries' in relation to Europe's digital cultural heritage. 

The  issue  of  preservation  is  relevant  for  publications  and  for  research  data.  Preserving 
research  data  is  essential  to  ensure  traceability  and  repeatability  of  experiments.  Moreover, 
research often depends on past observations, for example in the case of research on climate 
change. Sometimes research data collected in the past acquires contemporary relevance. 

This  was  the  case  during  the  'anthrax  alerts'  in  the  US  and  Europe.  The  British 
Library – one of the few places worldwide with comprehensive historic holdings of 
research  information  on  anthrax  –  received  numerous  enquiries.  Virtually  no  new 
research had been done on anthrax for forty years.7 

There  are  currently  no  clear  strategies  in  place  across  the  Union  for  long  term  preservation 
and usability of digital scientific information. Existing national and European initiatives must 

7 

European Task Force Permanent Access, 'Permanent access to the records of science'. 

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be linked systematically. Preservation is also an area with considerable market potential (e.g. 
storage services) where Europe cannot afford to lag behind. 

4.2. 

Issues and challenges 

Organisational issues  

The  issue  of  preservation  raises  organisational  questions.  Who  is  responsible  for  preserving 
research  data  and  the  necessary  software  and  hardware?  What  are  the  roles  of  research 
organisations and libraries? According to what criteria should the material to be preserved be 
selected?  Moreover,  a  successful  public  preservation  strategy  requires  good  collaboration 
between public and private partners.  

the 
Examples  of  public-private  partnerships 
agreements  between  the  Dutch  National  Library  and  publishers  such  as  Reed 
Elsevier, Springer and Bio-Med Central. 

for  preservation  purposes  are 

Legal issues 

Legal  deposit,  i.e.  the  obligation  for  content  producers  to  make  one  or  more  copies  of 
scientific  materials  available  to  a  mandated  deposit  body,  is  a  central  issue  for  the 
preservation  of  digital  scientific  information.  Member  States  have  started  to  extend  deposit 
arrangements  to  digital  information,  at  different  speeds  and  with  different  types  of 
information  covered.  Nevertheless,  the  transition  towards  a  digital  environment  may  cause 
gaps  in  the  intellectual  record.  A  2004  report  of  the  Science  and  Technology  Committee  of 
the UK House of Commons signalled a gap of 60% in the deposit of electronically delivered 
publications due to delays in implementing legal deposit.8 In order to maximise the efficiency 
of the preservation process, digital information should be made available to mandated deposit 
bodies without technical protection against copying. 

Technical issues 

Technological  advances  can  help  to  keep  information  accessible  and  usable.  The  goal  is  to 
reduce  preservation  costs  and  offer  solutions  for  challenges  such  as  the  storage  of  large 
volumes  of  dynamic  content.  Upgrading  of  the  supporting  technical  infrastructure  would 
increase the capacity of research organisations to store information. 

Financial issues  

The cost of long term and sustainable preservation must be taken into account when setting up 
open  repositories,  but  is  often  difficult  to  assess.  Determining  factors  include  the  type  and 
volume of information stored, the number of migrations needed, and envisaged use. 

5. 

ACTIONS AT EUROPEAN LEVEL 

5.1. 

Commission position 

Initiatives  leading  to  wider  access  to  and  dissemination  of  scientific  information  are 
necessary, especially with regard to journal articles and research data produced on the basis of 
public funding. With respect to journal articles, the Commission is observing and considering 
experiments with open access publishing.  

8 

HC Science and Technology Committee report 'Scientific Publications - Free for all?' - HC 399-1, July 
2004, p. 93. 

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Fully  publicly  funded  research  data  should  in  principle  be  accessible  to  all,  in  line  with  the 
2004 OECD Ministerial Declaration on Access to Research Data from Public Funding.9 

Moreover, the Commission draws particular attention to the need for clear strategies for the 
digital preservation of scientific information. 

The  Commission  values  the  crucial  role  of  all  stakeholders  in  the  scientific  information 
system,  and  these  stakeholders  should  be  involved  in  any  transformation  process  regarding 
access to, dissemination of and preservation of scientific information. 

5.2.  What has been done so far? 

Member  States  and  the  Commission  have  started  exploring  issues  of  access,  dissemination 
and  preservation  of  scientific  information,  through  project  funding  and  by  launching  a 
public debate with stakeholders.  

Examples  of  relevant  projects  co-funded  under  the  Sixth  Framework  Programme  (FP6)  are 
CASPAR, DRIVER, and SEADATANET.  

CASPAR  looks  at  how  to  manage  future  access  to  and  preserve  scientific  data. 
DRIVER 
information. 
SEADATANET  aims  to  develop  a  Pan-European  Marine  Data  Management 
Infrastructure integrating the national marine data repositories. 

link  repositories  of  scientific 

focuses  on  ways 

to 

The  Commission  has  also  begun  to  work  with  advisory  groups  and  gather  views  from 
stakeholders,  for  example  the  High  Level  Group  on  Digital  Libraries  and  the  European 
Research Advisory Board (EURAB). 

It  has  also  financed  a  'Study  on  the  economic  and  technical  evolution  of  the  scientific 
publication  markets  in  Europe',10  which  was  subject  to  a  public  consultation  in  2006. 
Responses  from  these  initiatives  together  with  regular  interaction  with  stakeholders  have 
given the Commission valuable inputs. 

At  the  political  level,  a  Commission  Recommendation  on  the  digitisation  and  online 
accessibility  of  cultural  information  and  digital  preservation  adopted  on  24  August  2006 
addresses the digital preservation issue.11 

5.3. 

Future actions managed by the European Commission 

A. Access to Community funded research results 

Within FP7, the Commission will take measures to promote better access to the publications 
resulting  from  the  research  it  funds.  In  this  context,  project  costs  related  to  publishing, 
including  open  access  publishing,  will  be  eligible  for  a  Community  financial  contribution. 
The Commission will encourage the research community to make use of this possibility. 

The Commission also envisages, within specific programmes (e.g. the programmes managed 
by the European Research Council), to issue specific guidelines on the publication of articles 
in open repositories after an embargo period. This would be done on a sectorial basis, taking 
into account the specificity of the different scholarly and scientific disciplines. 

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Adopted  in  Paris  on  30  January  2004.  An  OECD  recommendation  on  this  issue  is  currently  in 
preparation. 
http://ec.europa.eu/research/science-society/pdf/scientific-publication-study_en.pdf 
OJ L 236, 31.8.2006, p.28. 

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B. Co-funding of research infrastructures (in particular repositories) and projects 

Within FP7 the Commission will intensify its activities regarding infrastructures relevant for 
access  to  scientific  information,  in  particular  by  linking  digital  repositories  at  the  European 
level.  An  amount  of  approximately  €50  million  will  be  made  available  to  this  end  for  the 
period 2007-2008 (some 20 million of which have been allocated for 2007). 

In addition, an indicative amount of €25 million will be provided during this period (some 15 
million of which during 2007) for research on digital preservation (in particular a network of 
Centres  of  competence  for  digital  preservation)  and  on  collaborative  tools  for  using  the 
content. 

Within  the  eContentplus  programme  (2005-2008),  €10  million  has  been  earmarked  to 
improve the accessibility and usability of scientific content, in particular addressing issues of 
interoperability and multilingual access. 

C. Input for the future policy debate 

To  feed  the  debate  and  the  policy  process,  the  Commission  will  launch  a  study  on  the 
economic  aspects  of  digital  preservation  to  start  in  2007.  Moreover,  through  the  Science  in 
Society  programme,  the  Commission  will  support  research  on  the  scientific  publication 
system  within  the  ERA  and  globally,  for  example  on  publication  business  models, 
dissemination strategies, and the connections between research excellence, scientific integrity 
and the scientific publication system. 

When reviewing VAT-legislation, the Commission will critically examine issues relevant for 
scientific publications, such as the restrictions for public authorities or the exempt sectors on 
the recovery of VAT. 

D. Policy co-ordination and policy debate with stakeholders 

Discussions  in  the  European  Parliament  and  Council  will  contribute  to  a  common 
understanding  of  access  and  dissemination  issues  at  European  level.  In  this  respect,  the 
Member States are invited to explore possible common strategies and to discuss the relevant 
issues  and  challenges  –  organisational,  legal,  technical  and  financial  –  highlighted  in  this 
Communication. Instruments  such  as  ERA-NET  and  fora  such as CREST and  ESFRI could 
contribute to shaping the discussion. 

The Commission will continue consultations with stakeholders in relevant expert and advisory 
groups  such  as  the  EIROforum,  ESF,  EURAB,  and  the  High  Level  Group  on  Digital 
Libraries, taking into account the global dimension of the issue. It will organise a high-level 
conference on scientific publishing in the ERA in early 2007. 

The Commission will encourage universities, research organisations, research funding bodies 
and scientific publishers to exchange information on good practices in relation to new access 
and dissemination models for scientific information. 

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Overview of actions 

A. ACCESS TO COMMUNITY FUNDED RESEARCH RESULTS 

–  Costs  for  publishing,  including  open  access  publishing,  defined  as  eligible  costs  in 

Community funded research projects. 

–  Specific guidelines to be issued, within specific programmes, on the publication of articles 

in open repositories. 

B. CO-FUNDING THROUGH COMMUNITY PROGRAMMES  

–  Approximately €50 million for work on infrastructures, in particular digital repositories, in 

2007-2008. 

–  Approximately €25 million for digital preservation and collaborative tools in 2007-2008. 

–  Approximately  €10  million  on  access  to  and  use  of  scientific  information  through 

eContentplus programme. 

C. INPUT FOR THE FUTURE POLICY DEBATE 

–  Study on the economic aspects of digital preservation. 

–  Funding  of  research  on  publication  business  models  and  on  the  scientific  publication 

system.  

D. POLICY CO-ORDINATION AND DEBATE WITH STAKEHOLDERS 

–  Deliberations  in  the  European  Parliament  and  Council;  further  discussions  with 

stakeholders. 

–  Exchange  of  good  practices  for  new  models  of  access  to,  dissemination  of,  and 

preservation of scientific information. 

6. 

CONCLUSION 

Access to, dissemination of, and preservation of scientific information are major challenges of 
the digital age. Success in each of these areas is of key importance for European information 
society  and  research  policies.  Different  stakeholders  in  these  fields  have  differing  views  on 
how to move towards improvements for access, dissemination and preservation.  

Within  this  transition  process  from  a  print  world  to  a  digital  world,  the  Commission  will 
contribute to the debate among stakeholders and policy makers by encouraging experiments 
with new models that may improve access to and dissemination of scientific information, and 
by supporting the linkage of existing preservation initiatives at European level. 

The Commission invites the European Parliament and Council to debate the relevant issues on 
the basis of the present Communication. 

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