The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) has issued a Request for Information (RFI) inviting input on “enhancing public access to archived publications resulting from research funded by federal science and technology agencies.” The Administration, as part of its Transparency and Open Government initiative, is looking at public access as an opportunity to stimulate scientific and technological innovation and competitiveness.

We encourage you – as libraries, institutions, and individuals – to respond to this pivotal opportunity. Your input will be critical in helping the administration to form a deep and balanced view of stakeholders’ interest in ensuring public access to publicly funded research.

The initial deadline for commenting was January 7, 2010. However, as of this writing, the deadline is going to be extended for an extra two weeks. Respondents are invited to respond online via the Public Access Policy blog, where the discussion will center on a single theme for each of three ten-day periods.

* December 10 – 20: Implementation
* December 21 – 31: Features and technology
* January 1 – 7: Management

Email comments will also be accepted, but will still be posted to the blog by the moderator. General comments may also be submitted. See the full Federal Register notice for details.