Four leading associations serving research universities – the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), the Association of American Universities (AAU), the Coalition for Networked Information (CNI), and the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC) – have issued a joint statement, ‘The University’s Role in the Dissemination of Research and Scholarship.’ The statement is a call to action for universities to ensure the broadest possible access to the products of their work.

The statement is an outgrowth of a roundtable discussion hosted by the four organisations that engaged provosts, chief research officers, chief information officers, senior faculty, and library and university press directors. These leaders identified a set of actions that should be taken to expand the dissemination of the full range of products of the university community’s research and scholarship. The call to action offers a broader vision for the university’s role and provides a series of recommended actions, both for campus leaders and for collective action by the university community.

The complete document, ‘The University’s Role in the Dissemination of Research and Scholarship—A Call to Action,’ is available online at http://www.arl.org/bm~doc/disseminating-research-feb09.pdf."