octt16_b.indd


C&RL News October 2016 464

Shawnda Hines is press offi  cer of the ALA Washington 
Offi  ce, email: shines@alawash.org

W a s h i n g t o n  H o t l i n eShawnda Hines

FASTR is slowing down 
Every year, the U.S. government funds bil-
lions of dollars in research being conducted 
in various government agencies and depart-
ments. U.S. taxpayers underwrite this research, 
and they have a right to expect access to the 
resulting published data, analyses, and articles. 
Currently, the taxpayers who cannot afford to 
pay for access are unable to use this material in 
a timely manner. For nearly a decade librarians 
have been at the forefront of efforts to make the 
research the public pays for accessible by advo-
cating for passage of the Fair Access to Science 
and Technology Research Act of 2015 (FASTR). 

Unfortunately, what seems like an obvi-
ous improvement to the public’s access to 
taxpayer-funded research, this bipartisan, 
bicameral bill will disappear at the close 
of the 114th Congress on January 3, 2017.  

ALA has spent the past year advocating 
for FASTR because it would:

• Require federal agencies and depart-
ments with an annual extramural research 
budget of $100 million or more to mandate 
that all taxpayer-funded researchers provide 
the agency with an electronic copy of the 
fi nal manuscript of any paper accepted for 
publication in a peer-reviewed journal. Cur-
rently, the federal policy only applies to the 
National Institutes of Health Public Access. 
FASTR would extend this stipulation to 11 
additional federal agencies and departments.

• Ensure that all submitted manuscripts 
are preserved in a stable digital repository 
maintained by the funding agency or in 
another suitable repository that permits free 
public access, interoperability, and long-
term preservation.

• Require that each taxpayer-funded 
manuscript be made available to the public, 
online and without cost, between six-to-
twelve months after the article has been 
published in a peer-reviewed journal.

FASTR is not only about giving the 
public timely access to the costly research 
the U.S. government funds. It is also about 
getting maximal benefi t from the results 
of that research. Broad communication of 
research fi ndings is an essential component 
of taxpayers’ investment. The Internet is the 
most effi cient way to share the latest scien-
tifi c and research advances with every sci-
entist, physician, educator, and individual 
who wants this valuable information, and 
yet much of it is locked behind expensive 
pay walls. Faster and wider sharing of 
knowledge fuels the advance of science 
and innovation.

Even though FASTR seems to be slowing 
down, political will to make information 
more accessible is picking up. For the fi rst 
time since bills fi ghting for open access to 
taxpayer-funded research were introduced, 
FASTR unanimously passed out of the 
Senate’s Homeland Security and Govern-
mental Affairs Committee. While this may 
not appear to be much movement at all, 
it demonstrates an increasing openness to 
make information accessible. We do not 
expect to win this battle before January 3, 
but little by little, Congress by Congress, 
timely access to taxpayer-funded research 
is becoming more attainable. The fi ght will 
continue in the 115th Congress. 

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