[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 183 (Friday, September 22, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65360-65361]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-20579]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

National Agricultural Library


Notice of Stakeholder Listening Sessions Regarding Increasing 
Public Access to the Results of USDA-Funded Research

AGENCY: National Agricultural Library, Agricultural Research Service, 
U.S. Department of Agriculture.

ACTION: Notice of stakeholder listening sessions.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (Department's) National 
Agricultural Library (NAL) announces virtual listening sessions to 
receive public comments, recommendations, and suggestions on the 
Department's planned response to new White House Office of Science and 
Technology Policy (OSTP) guidance on access to the results of 
federally-funded research. The Department's plan and policies apply to 
the results of research funded wholly or in part by any USDA component 
agency. This effort to obtain input regarding implementation of federal 
public access requirements will be carried out through online and 
virtual submission mechanisms. Stakeholder input received from the two 
mechanisms will be treated equally.

DATES: 
    Virtual Listening Sessions: Two listening sessions will be held to 
obtain virtual input from stakeholders throughout the United States. 
Stakeholders include members of the public, principal investigators, 
research institutions, libraries, scholarly publishers, scientific 
societies, agricultural organizations and associations, data 
scientists, data repositories, and other stakeholder groups. The first 
listening session will take place on September 27, 2023. The session 
will begin at 2 p.m. EST and is scheduled to end no later than 5 p.m. 
EST. The second listening session will take place on October 12, 2023. 
The session will begin at 10 a.m. EST and is scheduled to end no later 
than 1 p.m. EST. Each session will include brief remarks from USDA 
research leadership, followed by comments from stakeholders. Each 
registered speaker will receive five minutes to share their comments 
with the Agency. If time allows after all comments from registered 
speakers are made, unscheduled speakers will be allowed five minutes to 
present their comments to the Agency. The length of the sessions will 
be adjusted according to numbers of participants seeking to provide 
input.
    Registration: All parties interested in attending the virtual 
listening sessions must RSVP no later than one week prior to the 
scheduled session. Each virtual listening session will be webcast and 
transcribed. Information about registering for the virtual sessions and 
viewing the webcast can be found at https://www.nal.usda.gov/about-us/events/public-access. This website includes instructions on submitting 
written comments and registering to attend or speak at the virtual 
listening session. All parties interested in attending the virtual 
listening session must RSVP no later than one week prior to the 
scheduled session they will attend.
    If you need a reasonable accommodation or language access services 
to register for, or participate in, this event, please contact Cynthia 
Parr, National Agricultural Library, at [email protected], or 301-
837-8917.
    Written Comments: Submission of written stakeholder input will be 
open upon publishing of this Notice through 5 p.m. EST on November 15, 
2023 via the Federal eRulemaking portal as described below.

ADDRESSES: 
    Listening sessions: The virtual listening session Zoom links are 
shared upon registration for September 27, 2023 and October 12, 2023. 
All parties interested in attending the virtual listening session must 
RSVP no later than one week prior to the scheduled session.
    Written comments: Written comments must be submitted via the 
Federal eRulemaking Portal at regulations.gov. Please go to 
www.regulations.gov to submit your comments electronically.

[[Page 65361]]

Information on using regulations.gov, including instructions for 
accessing agency documents, submitting comments, and viewing the 
docket, is available at https://www.nal.usda.gov/about-us/events/public-access.
    The Department will not accept comments submitted by fax, by email, 
or comments submitted after the comment period closes. To ensure that 
the Department does not receive duplicate copies, please submit your 
comments only once.
    Privacy Note: The Department's policy is to make all comments 
received from members of the public available for public viewing on the 
Federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov. Therefore, 
commenters should be careful to include in their comments only 
information that they wish to make publicly available.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cynthia Parr, National Agricultural 
Library, at [email protected], or 301-837-8917.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Purpose: USDA seeks public input on its plans for enhancing policy, 
infrastructure, and outreach to make results of the research it funds 
more readily available and accessible by the public.
    Background: USDA developed a public access plan in response to the 
February 22, 2013 OSTP memorandum entitled ``Increasing Access to the 
Results of Federally Funded Scientific Research'' and several White 
House memoranda. Current USDA policy and activities were developed from 
that original plan. On August 25, 2022, OSTP issued a new public access 
memorandum: ``Ensuring Free, Immediate, and Equitable Access to 
Federally Funded Research.'' In response to OSTP's 2022 memo, USDA will 
enhance policy, infrastructure, and outreach to make its scientific 
data and publications more readily available and accessible by the 
public, as described generally in the new plan, which can be viewed at: 
https://www.nal.usda.gov/services/public-access/. This listening 
effort, organized by the National Agricultural Library on behalf of the 
USDA Office of the Chief Scientist, allows stakeholders the opportunity 
to provide feedback on USDA's plan and to inform details of its policy-
making and other implementation. The USDA Public Access plan and 
policies apply to the results of research funded wholly or in part by 
any USDA component agency. USDA provides the questions listed below to 
prompt feedback and comments. USDA encourages public comment on any or 
all of these questions, and also seeks any other information that 
commenters believe is relevant. The questions to enhance public access 
of USDA-funded research outcomes are:
     How can USDA best implement its plans to improve public 
access to USDA-funded research results?
     How can USDA update or refine its policies to improve 
public access to USDA-funded research results?
     How can USDA ensure equity in publication opportunities?
     How can USDA use partnerships to improve public access and 
accessibility to results of USDA-funded research?
     How can USDA monitor impacts on communities impacted by 
its public access policies?

    Done at Washington, DC.
Simon Liu,
Administrator, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of 
Agriculture.
[FR Doc. 2023-20579 Filed 9-21-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-03-P