Academic freedom and openness are the hallmarks of scholarship. Researchers publish their results, not for financial return, but to enable other researchers to build upon them and to contribute to the progress of knowledge in their fields. As such, most scholars want to share their work as widely as possible with colleagues, students, and others who may be interested.
The current scholarly publishing system does not reflect these needs and values....
Currently, over 50 funding agencies worldwide have implemented open access policies including several in Canada....
Several universities have also committed to open access through policy implementation, including MIT, Harvard, and Stanford in the US, as well as institutions in Australia, Belgium, Finland, Germany, India, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, and the UK. No university in Canada has yet to follow suit....
Clearly, open access will advance Concordia University's mission of “innovation and excellence in education, research, creative activity and community partnerships” and, given its many benefits for scholarship and society, the principle of open access should be widely supported by the entire Concordia community....
In terms of policy elements, a number of options can be considered. Most policies call for members of a university (or department) to both deposit their peer-reviewed articles into a university repository and to grant the university a non-exclusive license to make those articles available over the internet. Experience of others demonstrates that without a requirement to deposit, the policy is not likely to be widely adhered to. However, since not all publishers currently allow for article deposit, a policy can include a clause for opting out of the license, thereby ensuring maximum flexibility for authors in terms of publishing options. OA policies can also address publisher embargoes by permitting authors to delay access to a deposited article for an agreed upon amount of time....
The university could also support the transition of Concordia-based journals to open access models by providing them with expertise and infrastructure support. There are sustainable business models for open access journals....
Finally, the university should continue the practice of giving due weight in promotion and tenure committees to peer-reviewed publications regardless of their price, medium, or business model....
Comment. This is an excellent set of recommendations, effectively packaged with a supporting argument and OA policies from other institutions. Here's hoping that the Concordia faculty and administration will read it with care.
Posted by
Peter Suber at 6/12/2009 12:44:00 PM.
The open access movement:
Putting peer-reviewed scientific and scholarly literature
on the internet. Making it available free of charge and
free of most copyright and licensing restrictions.
Removing the barriers to serious research.
I recommend the OA tracking project (OATP) as the best way to stay on top of new OA developments. You can read the OATP feed on a blog-like web page or subscribe to it by RSS, email, or Twitter. You can also help build the feed by tagging new developments you encounter.
