bcnysThe Business Council of New York State today released a memorandum of support for the Academic Research Information Access (ARIA) act.

In their memo, the Business Council states:

“This legislation serves several purposes vital to ensuring New York’s economy is positioned to stabilize and grow, including supporting increased access and communication among our colleges and universities in support of their programs, and linking the work of our universities to that of the regional economies in which they operate.  Most importantly it provides a missing link between our research universities and the private sector, from mature firms to start-ups, where the importance of innovation is essential to furthering their growth.  This legislation will bridge the academic-industry divide through making available to the private sector, in particular those entrepreneurial and start-up companies, the same science, technical and medical publications needed by faculty-based researchers.  The money spent by public and private college, university and research libraries in New York to license online resources can have much greater impact if it is spent cooperatively through statewide shared licenses rather than individually. Not only can a wider array of online materials be made available to campuses and research libraries throughout the state, but through shared licensing, more affordable options for libraries at small campuses can support coursework for students in workforce development programs that are at the heart of our competitive state economy.”

Read the full memo here.

The Business Council of New York State, Inc., is the leading business organization in New York State, representing the interests of large and small firms throughout the state. Its membership is made up of thousands of member companies, as well as local chambers of commerce and professional and trade associations.