[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 19 (Monday, January 29, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5485-5486]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-01673]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

National Agricultural Library


Notice of Second Interested Party Feedback Period Regarding 
Increasing Public Access to the Results of USDA-Funded Research

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

[[Page 5486]]


ACTION: Notice of second public feedback period.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (Department's) National 
Agricultural Library (NAL) announces a second public feedback period to 
receive public comments, recommendations, and suggestions on the 
Department's planned response to 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 an online 
submission mechanism. This second public feedback period is to allow 
opportunity for feedback from interested parties not widely heard from 
during the first period, including but not limited to members of the 
public; principal investigators; research institutions, including 
minority-serving institutions; research libraries; data repositories; 
and data scientists. Responses received during the first comment period 
have already been reviewed and will be considered along with comments 
received during the second comment period. If you need a reasonable 
accommodation or language access services to leave a written comment, 
please contact Cynthia Parr, National Agricultural Library, at 
[email protected], or 301-837-8917.
    Written Comments: Submission of written interested party input will 
be open upon publishing of this Notice through 5 p.m. Eastern time 
February 28, 2024, via the Federal eRulemaking portal as described 
below.

ADDRESSES: 
    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. 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/services/public-access/.
    The Department will not accept comments submitted by fax or 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 further 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 its new plan available at: https://www.nal.usda.gov/services/public-access/. This comment period, 
organized by the National Agricultural Library on behalf of the USDA 
Office of the Chief Scientist, allows interested parties 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 following questions 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.
     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
Jeffrey Silverstein,
Acting Associate Administrator, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. 
Department of Agriculture.
[FR Doc. 2024-01673 Filed 1-26-24; 8:45 am]
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