[I, Librarian]
  • [Photo] Jason Stajich • May 23, 2002
    The following was released by the International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB):
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    I. Introduction

    Conditions of bioinformatics software availability are extremely important to the field of bioinformatics. The ISCB, a professional society of 1300 bioinformatics scientists, has discerned significant confusion in recent months regarding the topic of software availability, and is disseminating this statement to clarify several issues regarding software availability, and to make recommendations on software availability policies for government agencies that fund bioinformatics research.

    II. Recommendations

    1. The term `open source' has taken on many different meanings. This term creates confusion in discussions of software availability; therefore the term should be carefully qualified to indicate which variation of the open-source model is intended.

    2. Government agencies that fund bioinformatics research should NOT REQUIRE that software produced with government research funds must be distributed under open-source license (particularly given the ambiguity in the meaning of that term). Because of the complexity inherent in software, no single distribution model is appropriate for all research projects. Government agencies should require clear statements of software availability in grant proposals.

    3. As reviewers of bioinformatics grant applications, ISCB scientists have noted that these applications often contain confusing or unclear statements regarding the availability of software that will be developed under government grant funds. This statement contains several definitions of software availability that ISCB recommends for use in bioinformatics grant applications. ISCB recommends one of those definitions as a minimal requirement of software availability that funding agencies should require.
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    Full statement and levels of software availability at http://www.iscb.org/pr.shtml#software

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