BusinessUSA

“ Scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture produce about 10,000 research papers a year, with several thousand more written by outside scientists funded by USDA. The department believes that open access to agricultural research could cut in half the time required to produce plant varieties with desirable traits, such as resistance to drought or pests. ”

“ He said that the White House policy "appears to support the idea that embargo periods of different length may be necessary, depending on discipline." An article on a medical topic might be obsolete six months after publication, while one on an issue in mathematics "might still be highly relevant after five years."
The open-access movement launched about a decade ago as the high cost of academic journals spurred libraries, scientists, and activists to search for ways to upend the 200-year-old stranglehold on scientific information enjoyed by academic publishers. ”

“ White House moves to make federally funded research open to the public; White House directs agencies to open access to scientific information
Detailed Text: The White House moved Friday to make nearly all federally funded research freely available to the public, the latest advance in a long-running battle over access to research that exploded into view last month after the suicide of free-information activist Aaron Swartz. ”