UCL first to offer all its research free online

University College London is set to make all its research available free on the internet for the first time.

It will be the first of Europe's top universities to move to "open access" for all research, subject to copyright law.

The college hopes the model will spread across the academic world and increase economic growth by making institutions' work better known.

Paul Ayris, head of the UCL library and one of the people behind the plans to put all the university's research on a freely accessible UCL website, said he had backed open access because the existing system put up "barriers" to the use of research.

He said: "This is not good for society if you're looking for a cure for cancer."

Some experts have criticised the move, however, and said that using journals boosts efficiency by signalling to readers whether research is good or not. Martin Weale, director of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, said: "If you read something in the American Economic Review, there's a presumption that its quality has been examined with great care, and the article isn't rubbish.

"But if you have open access, people who are looking for things will find it very difficult to sort out the wheat from the chaff."

The most famous university to move towards open access is Harvard, where some faculties have voted in favour.

UCL will today announce the establishment of a Publications Board that will implement the university's policy. Mr Ayris expects to start by putting research since 2001 online but said it could take years to get all the documents ready.

Like many UK institutions, Oxford University offers its dons the opportunity to publish their research for free online, through "opt-in open access".