<font size="2"><font face="trebuchet ms,sans-serif">[Forwarding from the American Physical Society. --Peter Suber.]<br><font class="Apple-style-span" face="arial"><br></font></font></font><div class="gmail_quote"><br>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<br>
<br>
APS ONLINE JOURNALS AVAILABLE FREE IN U.S. PUBLIC LIBRARIES<br>
<br>
Ridge, NY, 28 July 2010: The American Physical Society (APS)<br>
announces a new public access initiative that will give readers<br>
and researchers in public libraries in the United States full use<br>
of all online APS journals, from the most recent articles back to<br>
the first issue in 1893, a collection including over 400,000<br>
scientific research papers. APS will provide this access at no<br>
cost to participating public libraries, as a contribution to<br>
public engagement with the ongoing development of scientific<br>
understanding.<br>
<br>
APS Publisher Joseph Serene observed that "public libraries have<br>
long played a central role in our country's intellectual life,<br>
and we hope that through this initiative they will become an<br>
important avenue for the general public to reach our research<br>
journals, which until now have been available only through the<br>
subscriptions at research institutions that currently cover the<br>
significant costs of peer review and online publication."<br>
<br>
Librarians can obtain access by accepting a simple online site<br>
license and providing valid IP addresses of public-use computers<br>
in their libraries<br>
(<a href="http://librarians.aps.org/account/public_access_new" target="_blank">http://librarians.aps.org/account/public_access_new</a>). The<br>
license requires that public library users must be in the library<br>
when they read the APS journals or download articles. Initially<br>
the program will be offered to U.S. public libraries, but it may<br>
include additional countries in the future.<br>
<br>
"The Public Library program is entirely consistent with the APS<br>
objective to advance and diffuse the knowledge of physics," said<br>
Gene Sprouse, APS Editor in Chief. "Our goal is to provide access<br>
to everyone who wants and needs our journals and this shift in<br>
policy represents the first of several steps the APS is taking<br>
towards that goal."<br>
<br>
--Contact: Amy Halsted,<br>
Special Assistant to the Editor in Chief,<br>
<a href="mailto:halsted@aps.org">halsted@aps.org</a>,<br>
631-591-4232<br>
<br>
--About the APS: The American Physical Society is the world's<br>
largest professional body of physicists, representing close to<br>
48,000 physicists in academia and industry worldwide. It has<br>
offices in Ridge, NY; Washington, DC; and College Park, MD. For<br>
more information: <a href="http://www.aps.org" target="_blank">www.aps.org</a>.<br>
<br>
</div><br>