The Right to Research Coalition, a group of students, academics, and librarians advocating for the adoption of Open Access policies at universities, recently welcomed eight new organizations and now represents over 5 million students.

Launched summer 2008, the Right to Research Coalition advocates for what they believe is a student’s right to free and unrestricted access of high-quality peer-reviewed scholarship on the Internet. The coalition expects open access policies to improve scholarly communication.
 
The latest additions to the international student coalition include the United States Student Association (USSA), the National Association of Graduate-Professional Students (NAGPS), the International Association of Political Science Students, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Graduate Student Council, the University of Minnesota Graduate and Professional Student Assembly, and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Graduate Student Association.
 
According to the coalition, over the past 20 years the subscription prices for scholarly journals has increased by 260 percent, which they claim puts students at risk of losing valuable resources because they or their school cannot afford access.
 
Kevin McComber, vice president of MIT’s graduate student council, spoke on the value of open access to students.
 
“The purpose of research is wide dissemination and cultivation of knowledge,” McComber said. “With increasing journal subscription costs and decreasing library budgets, we, as users and producers of scientific knowledge, are taking a stand to support Open Access to scholarly research. As a student government concerned both locally and globally, we feel this is not only a responsibility to our own constituency, but also to researchers and human advancement worldwide.”


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