[Open-access] Open Access Understanding lanched in Romania

[Constantinescu Nicolaie]

Dear colleagues,

The moment has come when all the thoughts, ideas, the initiatives and
the best experiences concerning Open Access to find a streamlined
expression capable to set in motion a vector for actions in Romania.
To this purpose, The Understanding of Open Access has been launched.
It is a document with a double significance: “understanding” as a
consensual agreement among the signatories and “understanding” meaning
a good apprehension of the concepts behind it.

What sparked this document?
Kosson community members shown a great interest and involvement for
the valorisation of the electronic information resources in Open
Access regime since 2005. From that moment on, a long path was
followed in translating, studying and promoting the concepts and the
models for the Open Access. In the year 2010, the Romanian Library
Association adopted a Motion on Open Access during the national
conference.
This important moment needed to be elevated in order to project
concrete actions in the future and this led to this programatic and
pragmatic document expressing the will and understanding of the
Romanian stakeholders.

Why it needs your support and where to promote it?
The first answer springs out of the need to clearly state the fact it
is not only necessary to have some knowledge about Open Access, but to
understand what this means. This difference in semantics it is
necessary now more than ever when many things seems to dilute and
apparently are being mangled in many other matters of concern.
Another answer is the need for more clarity in all it has to be done
in the future. To this purpose the document points to concrete
objectives.

What is the purpose of the understanding?
It will lead to a better consolidation of the members actions around
the community goals and offers solid guidelines to the knowledge gains
and further development opportunities.
It offers a clear fixed mark for the future of the Open Access in
Romania and Europe at large.
It constitutes the base for future actions and activities tightly
linked to Open Access advocacy in Romania.
It will be the measure for future calibration of our performances as
the objectives will be counted in solid facts for the Romanian society
and for the world at large.

What can I do?
1. Read, understand and sign the document at http://startad.kosson.ro
2. Advertise and advocate among your fellow colleagues the existence
of this document, what it means and what are the objectives.
3. Discuss among your friends and colleagues about the ways you could
involve your institution in advocating Open Access to information.
4. Acquire deeper and useful knowledge about this paradigm because
your institution will be affected in the future directly or by
influence by the Open Access implementations.
5. Initiate debate, write useful materials and involve all the stuff
working in your institution.
6. Take the document with you and convey its meanings and objectives
further to the management level, and raise the awareness to the final
goal of achieving an Open Access mandate and an institutional
endorsement for the Understanding.

Let us dedicate some time to understand Open Access, together, for our
better knowledge and for those whom we serve.

You are welcome to endorse it as it doesn't fold only to the Romanian realities.

Kind regards,

-- 
Constantinescu Nicolaie
Information Architect
http://www.kosson.ro