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Scientific Publications: Free for all?

: Yes, that happens, but not to the extent that we would wish. In interacting with the developing world, we are creating a research capacity that will allow them to do things for themselves; we will help build it up, giving grants and so on. That is all part of the process. They have to access the hard information that allows them not only to use those drugs in the best manner, but to have the facilities through which they can understand them. Computers are not restricted to this part of the hemisphere. They are present everywhere and people can access such information through them. I want to say something about the history of the problem, which did not just come out of the air. I remember looking for hours through the current contents of journals. One would have to comb all the way through them, send off a request to get the papers and then get about 1 per cent. of the papers back, if any at all. It was quite costly. Otherwise, one would have to photocopy and would build up huge photocopying bills in order to get such international information. We can move on from that and, to a large extent, we have. I only say that because that was what it was like for many of us as we grew through the scientific movement and were being trained. I welcome anything that will improve the situation. The digitisation that is taking place and the role of the British Library are so important. The British Library has more scientific information locked inside it than any other organisation that I know of, apart perhaps from the Vatican. We need to ensure that that information is available to everybody. Many small businesses go to the British Library to get such information. It is a fount of information and we have to encourage that. It is part of the process. I openly tell the Chamber that the whole inquiry started with me talking to Lord Eatwell in the House of Lords Bar about the problem of the British Library and getting the information out there. From then on, it spread like wildfire. I am pleased that the British Library has welcomed our report on the long-term storage of information. So, why did we start the inquiry? It was not just about Lord Eatwell buying me a drink in the House of Lords. Some of us knew that some publishers seemed to have a monopoly on a small number of prestige journals. I say ““prestige journals”” because of an important exercise in universities called the research assessment exercise. Research that is published scores more points if it is published in the right places. Some journals, such as Nature, give high points. They are very expensive and increasing in price. Librarians in universities and other environments—