Publishers Offer CHORUS As Solution To Federal Open Access Requirements

The Association of American Publishers (AAP) has put forward its bid for a coalition of publishers to handle many of the requirements outlined in the recent Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) memo requiring open access to federally funded research, in the form of the Clearinghouse for the Open Research of the United States (CHORUS). The publishers are in discussions with OSTP, the funding agencies, universities and research library communities (as are other proposed solutions by other stakeholders, not yet announced). CHORUS plans to “work out the system architecture and technical specifications over the summer and have an initial proof of concept completed by August 30.”

Publishers have offered to cover the costs for implementing CHORUS, but Joseph W. Serene, Treasurer/Publisher of the American Physical Society (APS), doesn’t think that will be a heavy burden. He told LJ, “most of the things that are on [the memo’s list of requirements], we can provide at very little marginal expense.”