Representatives of major European research institutes meeting in Berlin on Wednesday (October 22) issued a declaration in support of open-access publishing of scientific and scholarly research.

The declaration, dubbed the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities, says, "The Internet now offers the chance to constitute a global and interactive representation of human knowledge, including cultural heritage and the guarantee of worldwide access."

"Our organizations are interested in the further promotion of the new open access paradigm to gain the most benefit for science and society. Therefore, we intend to make progress by encouraging our researchers/grant recipients to publish their work according to the principles of the open access paradigm," it says.

Robert Schlögl, of the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society, told The Scientist that signatories included all major research institutes in Germany and France, as well as others throughout...

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