Stevan Harnad has self-archived "Open Access to Research: Changing Researcher Behavior through University and Funder Mandates" in the ECS EPrints Repository.

Here's an excerpt:

The primary target of the worldwide Open Access initiative is the 2.5 million articles published every year in the planet's 25,000 peer-reviewed research journals across all scholarly and scientific fields. Without exception, every one of these articles is an author give-away, written, not for royalty income, but solely to be used, applied and built upon by other researchers. The optimal and inevitable solution for this give-away research is that it should be made freely accessible to all its would-be users online and not only to those whose institutions can afford subscription access to the journal in which it happens to be published. Yet this optimal and inevitable solution, already fully within the reach of the global research community for at least two decades now, has been taking a remarkably long time to be grasped. The problem is not particularly an instance of "eDemocracy" one way or the other; it is an instance of inaction because of widespread misconceptions (reminiscent of Zeno's Paradox). The solution is for the world's research institutions and funders to (1) extend their existing "publish or perish" mandates so as to (2) require their employees and fundees to maximize the usage and impact of the research they are employed and funded to conduct and publish by (3) depositing their final drafts in their Open Access (OA) Institutional Repositories immediately upon acceptance for publication in order to (4) make their findings freely accessible to all their potential users webwide. OA metrics can then be used to measure and reward research progress and impact; and multiple layers of links, tags, commentary and discussion can be built upon and integrated with the primary research.

| Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview | Transforming Scholarly Publishing through Open Access: A Bibliography |

Peter Suber has published "Seeking Custody" in the latest issue of the SPARC Open Access Newsletter.

Here's an excerpt:

If we want to make a digital file OA, and we already have an OA repository, then we face just two hurdles. We need a copy of the file and we need permission. We can call these the custody and copyright conditions. "Custody" here doesn't mean ownership of the rights, just possession of a copy. If we have possession and permission, then we don't need ownership.

The OA movement has given far more attention to the copyright or permission problem than to the custody or possession problem. This may have the effect of sweeping a difficult problem under the rug. We often have permission when we lack custody, and often find that solving the permission problem is easier than solving the custody problem. Here are some examples of what could be called permission success and custody failure.

(1) You've published an article in a TA journal which allows green OA or self-archiving. But the journal only allows deposit of the final version of the author's peer-reviewed manuscript, not the published version. You're fine with that and eager to make the manuscript OA. But you can't put your hands on the version you're allowed to deposit. You think it's on your hard drive somewhere, or in your email archive. But you're not sure. You haven't had time to look, or you've looked and found six versions. You don't have time to figure out which one, if any, is the deposit-eligible, peer-reviewed manuscript, or you've taken the time and you're still unsure. Or you have the version you submitted to the journal, and all the correspondence with the editor, but you don't have time to reconstruct the version approved by peer review. Or you might have deleted the relevant version in a fit of spring cleaning, as a superseded version not worth saving, or you might have failed to copy it over from your last computer when you upgraded. With enough detective work you could find out, but you don't know how much time it would take and you're pretty sure it would take more than you have.

| Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview | Institutional Repository Bibliography |

In June 1989, I launched PACS-L, a LISTSERV mailing list. PACS-L was one of the first library-oriented mailing lists, and, at the time, it was unusual in that it had a broad subject focus (public-access computer systems in libraries, such as online catalogs) rather than a narrow focus on a specific library automation system. Although PACS-L's greatest contribution may have been in raising librarians' awareness of the importance and potential of the then fledgling Internet, it was also the platform on which my initial scholarly digital publishing efforts were based.

In August 1989, I began my scholarly digital publishing efforts, launching one of the first e-journals on the Internet, The Public-Access Computer Systems Review. This journal, if it was published today, would be called a "libre" open access journal since it was freely available, allowed authors to retain their copyrights, and had special copyright provisions for noncommercial use. It was the first open access journal in the field of library and information science.

Aside from Public-Access Computer Systems News (also "libre" open access), my subsequent digital publications, such as the Scholarly Electronic Publishing Bibliography, were "gratis" open access until 2004, when all new versions of existing publications and new publications became "libre" open access under various versions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License.

To date, my major open access publications have been:

• The Public-Access Computer Systems Review, founder and Editor-in-Chief, 37 issues, 1989-1996.
• Public-Access Computer Systems News, co-founder and co-editor, 39 issues, 1990-1992.
• Library-Oriented Lists and Electronic Serials, 25 versions, 1990-1994.
• "Network-Based Electronic Publishing of Scholarly Works: A Selective Bibliography," 26 versions, 1995-1996.
• Scholarly Electronic Publishing Bibliography, 79 versions, 1996-present.
• Scholarly Electronic Publishing Weblog, over 500 posts, 2001-present.
• DigitalKoans, over 3,900 posts, 2005-present.
• Electronic Theses and Dissertations Bibliography, 5 versions, 2005-present.
• Google Books Bibliography, 6 versions, 2005-present.
• Institutional Repository Bibliography, 3 versions, 2009-present.
• Open Access Bibliography: Liberating Scholarly Literature with E-Prints and Open Access Journals (paperback, open access PDF file, and XHTML website), published by the Association for Research Libraries, 2005.
• Scholarly Electronic Publishing Bibliography: 2008 Annual Edition (paperback and open access PDF file), 2009.
• Tout de Suite Series, (Author's Rights, Tout de Suite and Institutional Repositories, Tout de Suite) 2008-present.
• Digital Curation and Preservation Bibliography, 2 versions, 2010.
• Digital Scholarship 2009 (paperback and open access PDF file), 2010.
• Transforming Scholarly Publishing through Open Access: A Bibliography (paperback, open access PDF file, and XHTML website), 2010.
• Digital Curation and Preservation Bibliography 2010 (paperback and open access PDF file), 2011.
• Scholarly Electronic Publishing Bibliography 2010 (paperback and open access PDF file), 2011.

Recent digital works have been published at my Digital Scholarship site, which covers digital copyright, digital curation, digital repository, open access, scholarly communication, and other digital information issues. There were over 34.9 million Digital Scholarship Web file requests from April 20, 2005 though December 31, 2010 by over 7 million visitors from 227 countries.

A compete history of my open access publishing efforts is available.

| Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview | Transforming Scholarly Publishing through Open Access: A Bibliography |

The Columbia University Libraries have adopted an open access policy.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

Columbia University Libraries is joining a growing movement among universities and research institutions to make scholarly research free and available to the public online. The Libraries is among the first departments at the university to adopt an open access resolution, which calls for faculty and other researchers to post their journal articles in online repositories such as Columbia's Academic Commons. In January, the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory became the first program at Columbia to adopt an open access resolution.

The resolution for the Libraries, which goes into effect on June 1, 2011, will require librarians and other professional staff members to deposit their published scholarly works into Academic Commons or another repository that makes the work publicly available. By posting articles in an open-access repository, authors are able to make their works freely accessible to anyone in the world with an Internet connection and discoverable via Google Scholar and other search tools, thus promoting a wider dissemination of research and information.

"The Libraries at Columbia have championed open access to research,” James G. Neal, Vice President for Information Services and University Librarian, said. "It is appropriate that its professional staff should model this policy and place their works in repositories for wide access and use."

The resolution covers only scholarly journal articles and is not retroactive. There is an opt-out feature built into the resolution, with respect to publishing an article in a journal that insists on exclusivity.  The resolution will also cover Health Sciences Library professional staff.

| Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview | Transforming Scholarly Publishing through Open Access: A Bibliography |

Lucie Guibault has self-archived "Owning the Right to Open Up Access to Scientific Publications" in SSRN.

Here's an excerpt:

Whether the researchers themselves, rather than the institution they work for, are at all in a position to implement OA principles actually depends on the initial allocation of rights on their works. Whereas most European Union Member States have legislation that provides that the copyright owner is the natural person who created the work, the copyright laws of a number European countries, including those of the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, establish a presumption, according to which the copyright of works made in the course of employment belongs initially to the employer, which in this case would be the university. In France, a similar presumption applies to works created by employees of the State. Even if researchers are in a position to exercise the rights on their works, they may, nevertheless, be required to transfer these to a publisher in order to get their article or book published. This paper, therefore, analyses the legal position of researchers, research institutions and publishers respectively, and considers what the consequences are for the promotion of OA publishing in light of the principles laid down in the Berlin Declaration and the use of Creative Commons licenses.

| Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview | Transforming Scholarly Publishing through Open Access: A Bibliography |

The Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation has released Access to Research and Technical Information in Denmark by John Houghton, Alma Swan, and Sheridan Brown.

Here's an excerpt:

The aim of this study is to examine levels of access to and use of research and technical information by knowledge-based SMEs [small and medium sized enterprises] in Denmark. We explore current levels of access and use, whether there are any barriers to access, access difficulties or gaps, and the costs and benefits involved in accessing research findings.

| Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview | Transforming Scholarly Publishing through Open Access: A Bibliography |

The Spanish Congreso de los Diputados has passed the Law on Science, Technology and Innovation, which includes an open access policy.

Here's an excerpt from the bill:

Artículo 37. Difusión en acceso abierto.

1. Los agentes públicos del Sistema Español de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación impulsarán el desarrollo de repositorios, propios o compartidos, de acceso abierto a las publicaciones de su personal de investigación, y establecerán sistemas que permitan conectarlos con iniciativas similares de ámbito nacional e internacional.
2. El personal de investigación cuya actividad investigadora esté financiada mayoritariamente con fondos de los Presupuestos Generales del Estado hará pública una versión digital de la versión final de los contenidos que le hayan sido aceptados para publicación en publicaciones de investigación seriadas o periódicas, tan pronto como resulte posible, pero no más tarde de doce meses después de la fecha oficial de publicación.
3. La versión electrónica se hará pública en repositorios de acceso abierto reconocidos en el campo de conocimiento en el que se ha desarrollado la investigación, o en repositorios institucionales de acceso abierto.
4. La versión electrónica pública podrá ser empleada por las Administraciones Públicas en sus procesos de evaluación.
5. El Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación facilitará el acceso centralizado a los repositorios, y su conexión con iniciativas similares nacionales e internacionales.
6. Lo anterior se entiende sin perjuicio de los acuerdos en virtud de los cuales se hayan podido atribuir o transferir a terceros los derechos sobre las publicaciones, y no será de aplicación cuando los derechos sobre los resultados de la actividad de investigación, desarrollo e innovación sean susceptibles de protección.

Here's the Google Translate version:

Article 37. Open access dissemination.

1. The public agents of the Spanish Science, Technology and Innovation will drive the development repositories, own or shared access open to the publications of its research staff, and establish systems to connect with similar initiatives at national and international.
2. The research staff whose activity research is financed mainly with funds from the State Budget will released a digital version of the final version of contents which have been accepted for publication serial research publications or periodicals, as soon as practicable, but no more later than twelve months after the official date publication.
3. The electronic version will be published in repositories open access recognized in the field knowledge which has developed research or open access institutional repositories.
4. The public electronic version can be used by the government in its processes evaluation.
5. The Ministry of Science and Innovation will facilitate centralized access to repositories, and their connection with similar national and international initiatives.
6. This is without prejudice to agreements under which they have attributed or transferred to third parties rights publications and do not apply when the rights to results of research activities, development and eligible for protection innovation.

Read more about it at "The Congress of Deputies Gives Green Light to Science Act" (in Spanish), "Spain Passes New Science Law," and "Spanish Congress Passes the Law on Science, Technology and Innovation with Open Access Mandate."

| Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview | Transforming Scholarly Publishing through Open Access: A Bibliography |

Yale University has adopted an open access policy for digitized images from its museums, archives, and libraries. Yale has also launched the Discover Yale Digital Commons, which has over 250,000 images.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

The goal of the new policy is to make high quality digital images of Yale's vast cultural heritage collections in the public domain openly and freely available.

As works in these collections become digitized, the museums and libraries will make those images that are in the public domain freely accessible. In a departure from established convention, no license will be required for the transmission of the images and no limitations will be imposed on their use. The result is that scholars, artists, students, and citizens the world over will be able to use these collections for study, publication, teaching and inspiration.

| Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview | Transforming Scholarly Publishing through Open Access: A Bibliography |

Hindawi has sold 12 open access journals to Springer Science+Business Media.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

In a move that will expand its open access offering, Springer Science+Business Media (Springer) has acquired twelve journals from Hindawi Publishing Corporation in an asset deal. The journals include seven titles published in cooperation with the European Association for Signal Processing, four mathematics journals and one in medicine. . . .

The takeover of the twelve journals is scheduled for the end of March 2011. Hindawi will continue to publish approximately 200 other open access journals.

| Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview | Scholarly Electronic Publishing Bibliography 2010 |

The UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, which is "the main UK government agency for funding research and training in engineering and the physical sciences," has adopted the EPSRC Policy Framework on Research Data.

Here's an excerpt from the document:

This policy framework sets out EPSRC's expectations concerning the management and provision of access to EPSRC-funded research data. EPSRC recognises that a range of institutional policies and practices can satisfy these expectations, and encourages research organisations to develop specific approaches which, while aligned with EPSRC's expectations, are appropriate to their own structures and cultures.

The expectations arise from seven core principles which align with the core RCUK principles on data sharing. Two of the principles are of particular importance: firstly, that publicly funded research data should generally be made as widely and freely available as possible in a timely and responsible manner; and, secondly, that the research process should not be damaged by the inappropriate release of such data.

| Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview | Digital Curation and Preservation Bibliography 2010 |

The Harvard Graduate School of Design has adopted an open access policy.

Here's an excerpt from the policy:

The Faculty of the Harvard Graduate School of Design is committed to disseminating the fruits of its research and scholarship as widely as possible. In keeping with that commitment, the Faculty adopts the following policy: Each Faculty member grants to the President and Fellows of Harvard College permission to make available his or her scholarly articles and to exercise the copyright in those articles. More specifically, each Faculty member grants to the President and Fellows a nonexclusive, irrevocable, worldwide license to exercise any and all rights under copyright relating to each of his or her scholarly articles, in any medium, provided that the articles are not sold for a profit, and to authorize others to do the same. The policy applies to all scholarly articles authored or co-authored while the person is a member of the Faculty except for any articles completed before the adoption of this policy and any articles for which the Faculty member entered into an incompatible licensing or assignment agreement before the adoption of this policy. The Dean or Dean’s designate will waive application of the license for a particular article or delay access for a specified period of time upon express direction by a Faculty member.

| Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview | Transforming Scholarly Publishing through Open Access: A Bibliography |

CERN has released The Architecture of Access to Scientific Knowledge: Just How Badly We Have Messed This Up.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

In this talk, Professor Lessig will review the evolution of access to scientific scholarship, and evaluate the success of this system of access against a background norm of universal access.

| Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview | Scholarly Electronic Publishing Bibliography 2010 |