The Role of Scientific and Technical Data and Information in the Public Domain: Proceedings of a Symposium

Summary: The body of scientific and technical data and information (STI) in the public domain in the United States is massive and has contributed broadly to the economic, social, and intellectual vibrancy of our nation. In recent years, however, there have been growing legal, economic, and technological pressures that restrict the creation and availability of public-domain information. Participants in this symposium discussed (1) the role, value, and limits of making STI available in the public domain for research and education; (2) the various legal, economic, and technological pressures on the producers of public-domain STI and the potential effects of these pressures on research and education; (3) the existing and proposed approaches for preserving the STI in the public domain or for providing “open access” in the United States; and (4) other important issues in this area that may benefit from further analysis. The main question that was addressed by the symposium participants was, “What can the S&T community itself do to address these issues within the context of managing its own data and information activities?”