Global Access to Science – meeting the revolution

This paper considers the large changes occurring in the way science is done, and the global significance of such changes. It reviews the mission of librarianship in promoting access to science and then surveys developments in recent years specifically in improving open access to scientific publications, covering a range of issues including significant shifts in the public policy debate about access, as well as some of the arguments about the best means of achieving outcomes. It concludes with a review of fresh challenges in terms of access to scientific data (eResearch, eScience), and gives a view that while libraries cannot act unilaterally to improve open access to quality certified research, library leadership can do more to promote clear minded strategic thinking about the future of access to science. Suggestions about what such leadership roles demand are made. While the paper covers these trends globally, the institutional perspective is that of one of the few universities worldwide that has mandated the deposit of research outputs in an institutional repository. The national perspective also reflects some recent changes in Australia, as well as elsewhere.