Some notes off the top of my bald spot:

>
>  The policy is intended to:
>  1) create an archive to ensure the permanent preservation of research
> findings
>  [Current system is not permanent?]

I've heard that the lifetime of any archive is 5 years or so, because
of the churn in hardware, formats, etc.  Even if 5 years is a short
estimate, these days you can't just assume that once archived, always
archived.

>  2) help NIH and its awardees to better manage and to understand better
> their research portfolios...and set research priorities
>  [Huh?]

I think I get their point, but it's poorly phrased.  Of course Dr. Joe
Researcher understands his own work.  A searchable archive might help
Dr. Joe Researcher keep track of everyone else's work, and figure out
where his work fits -- or can be expanded to fit.

>  3) make published results of NIH-funded research more readily accessible to
> everyone
>  [Does the general public need more access to primary research than it
> already has through PubMed abstracts? Big winners in this are scientists at
> small institutions and in other countries who lack access to large
> libraries.]
>

I love the notice's actual phrasing: "make published results of
NIH-funded research more readily accessible to the public, health care
providers, educators, and scientists."

Not "the public, INCLUDING..." but "the public, and these other groups
that may not be considered the public."  Oy vey.

I like the idea of teachers and clinical personnel being able to catch
up with articles at will.

If PubMed text abstracts were enough, then why do articles need data plots?

>  It just seems funny that an idea with such noble goals (are they?) would be
> voluntary.   Are they sensing that the policy has flaws and are floating it
> to see if enough people comply to make it worthwhile?
>

They're just trying to see if their game plan can survive contact with
reality...

--
I can answer any question.
"I don't know" is an answer.
"I don't know yet" is a better answer.

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