16K downloads in less than a month for OA article
Peter Suber, Open Access News, reports that an article on a popular subject (dietary supplements) was downloaded more than 16 thousand times in less than a month, and contrasts that with an article on an equally popular subject (acupuncture and pain relief), published in JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association). These are only anecdotes, of course, but they help to highlight the potential of open access to reach its wider audience.
Stories like these also remind me of one of reasons cited by scientists (ScienceBlogs) for wanting to participate more fully in the online environment: there’s a lot of misinformation out there and instead of simply complaining about it and disparaging the value of instant, cheap, world-wide distribution, adding accurate, peer-reviewed scientific information into the mix is a much better option.
