Open Access – Page 73

"The Gold OA Landscape 2011-2014"

Walt Crawford has published "The Gold OA Landscape 2011-2014" in Cites & Insights: Crawford at Large.

Here's an excerpt:

This issue consists of an excerpted version of The Gold OA Landscape 2011- 2014, published September 10, 2015 as a PDF ebook for $55.00 and on September 11, 2015 as a paperback book for $60.00. . . .

This book represents the first overview of essentially all of serious gold OA—that is, what's published by the journals listed in the Directory of Open Access Journals. I believe it's important for all OA publishers and for many libraries and OA advocates. If it does well, or if there's some form of alternative funding, I'll continue tracking the field in the future.

The issue—starting with the first numbered section below—includes a little more than one-third of what's in the book (a little more than half the text, but none of the 69 graphs, and probably less than half of the many, many tables), I believe these excerpts are useful on their own, and enough to provide a reasonably good picture of gold OA in 2011-2014- but they're not the whole story. For that, you'll have to buy the book.

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"Optimizing Open Access Policy "

Stevan Harnad has self-archived "Optimizing Open Access Policy."

Here's an excerpt:

This overview of the current status of Open Access (OA) to peer-reviewed research describes the steps that need to be taken to achieve universal OA. . . . To accelerate progress, more institutions and funders need to adopt more effective OA mandates: All universities and funders should require (1) institutional deposit (2) immediately upon acceptance for publication; urge (but not require) (3) immediate OA and (4) rights-retention; (5) minimize allowable embargo length, (6) implement the copy-request Button; (7) provide rich usage and citation metrics and (8) designate repository deposit of publications as the locus for institutional performance review as well as funding applications and renewals.

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"Data Rights and Responsibilities: A Human Rights Perspective on Data Sharing"

Theresa L. Harris and Jessica M. Wyndham have published "Data Rights and Responsibilities: A Human Rights Perspective on Data Sharing " in the Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics.

Here's an excerpt:

A human-rights-based analysis can be a useful tool for the scientific community and policy makers as they develop codes of conduct, harmonized standards, and national policies for data sharing. The human rights framework provides a shared set of values and norms across borders, defines rights and responsibilities of various actors involved in data sharing, addresses the potential harms as well as the benefits of data sharing, and offers a framework for balancing competing values. The right to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its applications offers a particularly helpful lens through which to view data as both a tool of scientific inquiry to which access is vital and as a product of science from which everyone should benefit.

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Dspace@MIT: 17,400 Articles Deposited and over 3.3 Million Downloads

MIT's Dspace@MIT has had 17,400 articles deposited and over 3.3 million downloads.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

A new milestone was reached in collecting articles under the MIT Faculty Open Access Policy : 43% of the articles published by faculty since they adopted their Policy are now being shared through the Open Access Articles Collection in Dspace@MIT.

As of the end of July 2015, downloads of the 17,400 articles deposited in relation to the Policy topped 3.3 million, with over 83,500 downloads during the month.

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"The Share of Open Access Journals (OAJ) and Open Access Articles (OAA) Charging Article Processing Charges (APC). Data from the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) 2013 to 2015"

Falk Reckling has published "The Share of Open Access Journals (OAJ) and Open Access Articles (OAA) Charging Article Processing Charges (APC). Data from the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) 2013 to 2015" in The Journal of Brief Ideas.

Here's an excerpt:

83.0% (186) of the OAJ charge APC, while 17.0% (38) of the OAJ don't. On the article level, 93.6% (683) of the articles were published with and 6.4% (47) without APC.

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"The Rutgers Open Access Policy: Implementation Planning for Success"

Laura Bowering Mullen and Jane Johnson Otto have self-archived "The Rutgers Open Access Policy: Implementation Planning for Success."

Here's an excerpt:

At Rutgers University, an open access resolution was passed by the University Senate in October, 2012, and was codified in the official Rutgers University Policy Library in October, 2014. All of the work that the authors coordinated to get to the point of passing the policy was only the beginning of making open access a reality at Rutgers. Since the date that the policy has passed, the authors have been leading an implementation effort (using an established timeline) which includes a new web portal for scholarship, as well as developing materials and presentations for various open access policy-focused education and outreach efforts.. . . The authors provide background and a case study to illustrate the implementation efforts underway as Rutgers comes closer to the official date that the policy will go into effect university-wide on Sept. 1, 2015.

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"Barriers to Open Access Publishing: Views from the Library Literature"

Amy Forrester has published "Barriers to Open Access Publishing: Views from the Library Literature" in Publications.

Here's an excerpt:

The library and information science (LIS) community has an active role in supporting access to information and, therefore, is an important stakeholder in the open access conversation. One major discussion involves the barriers that have hindered the complete transition to open access in scientific publications. Building upon a longitudinal study by Bo-Christer Björk that looked at barriers to the open access publishing of scholarly articles, this study evaluates the discussion of those barriers in the LIS literature over the ten year period 2004-2014, and compares this to Björk's conclusions about gold open access publishing.

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"Open Access to a High-Quality, Impartial, Point-of-Care Medical Summary Would Save Lives: Why Does It Not Exist?"

James Heilman has published "Open Access to a High-Quality, Impartial, Point-of-Care Medical Summary Would Save Lives: Why Does It Not Exist?" in PLOS Medicine.

Here's an excerpt:

Summary Points

Currently no open access point-of-care (POC) medical summary aimed at a professional audience exists.

Some nonprofit and multiple professional, for-profit POC medical summaries are frequently accessed by clinicians and policymakers.

Efforts to create open access POC summaries have been stymied by the difficulty of attracting high-quality contributors.

The open access medical publishing community can create this resource with engaged donors, crowd-sourcing, and technology.

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Open Science, Open Questions

IBICT and Unirio have released Open Science, Open Questions.

Here's an excerpt:

It is hoped that this publication will provide an overview of topics and issues that both trace and permeate the topic of open science nowadays from different perspectives and points of view. Above all, it is hoped that it might instigate further reflection and foster new ways of producing and circulating knowledge. Thus, it is geared not only towards the academic world, but also to a broader range of social actors that concern themselves with the democratisation of knowledge and information.

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"Is it True that Most Open Access Journals Do Not Charge an APC? Sort of. It Depends."

David Crotty has published "Is it True that Most Open Access Journals Do Not Charge an APC? Sort of. It Depends." in The Scholarly Kitchen.

Here's an excerpt:

Most journals in the study ["72% and 41%: A Gold OA 2011-2014 Preview"] do not charge authors, but the majority of authors are choosing to publish in journals that do charge. 27% (2,365) of the journals studied required an APC and were responsible for 57% of the articles.

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Enquiries Into Intellectual Property’s Economic Impact

OECD has released Enquiries Into Intellectual Property's Economic Impact.

Here's an excerpt from "Chapter 7: Legal Aspects of Open Access to Publicly Funded Research":

To explain the interplay between open access and IP laws, this chapter provides an overview of the IP regimes that protect research outputs in a sample of OECD jurisdictions. It then reviews the open access policies that are in place in some of those jurisdictions and examines two contexts in which IP questions can arise when open access principles are applied: public/private partnerships and text and data mining.

Also of interest: "Chapter 5: Copyright in the Digital Era: Country Studies."

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"Open Journal Systems and Dataverse Integration—Helping Journals to Upgrade Data Publication for Reusable Research"

Micah Altman et al. have self-archived "Open Journal Systems and Dataverse Integration—Helping Journals to Upgrade Data Publication for Reusable Research."

Here's an excerpt:

This article describes the novel open source tools for open data publication in open access journal workflows. This comprises a plugin for Open Journal Systems that supports a data submission, citation, review, and publication workflow; and an extension to the Dataverse system that provides a standard deposit API. We describe the function and design of these tools, provide examples of their use, and summarize their initial reception. We conclude by discussing future plans and potential impact.

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The Once and Future Publishing Library

The Council on Library and Information Resources has released The Once and Future Publishing Library .

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

The report explores the revitalization of library publishing and its possible future, and examines elements that influence the success and sustainability of library publishing initiatives.

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"Small Steps Matter: FASTR Passes Senate Committee Hurdle"

SPARC has released Small Steps Matter: FASTR Passes Senate Committee Hurdle by Heather Joseph.

Here's an excerpt:

With its action today, the Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) advanced the cause of public access to publicly funded research articles another crucial step. In a unanimous voice vote, the Committee approved S. 779, the Fair Access to Science and Technology Research (FASTR) Act which now positions the legislation to be considered by the full Senate.

This marks the first time that a U.S. Senate Committee has acted on a government-wide policy ensuring public access to the results of publicly funded research and signals that there is deep support for the ideal that taxpayers have the right to access to the research that their tax dollars fund. This action continues the steady march towards enabling fast, barrier-free access to research articles that got its start with the establishment of a voluntary NIH policy in 2005, and slowly progressed with legislation shifting that policy to mandatory in 2008, again in 2010 with the America COMPETES Act and most recently with the 2013 White House OSTP Directive on public access. . . .

Today's progress on FASTR is another step in this long march. Under the leadership of Senator Cornyn (R-TX) and Senator Wyden (D-OR), FASTR provides the statutory framework needed codify the White House OSTP Directive, which was issued with the goal of accelerating scientific discovery and fueling innovation. While 13 federal agencies and departments have released their initial plans, the reality is that the OSTP Directive is not law, and can be easily overturned by a subsequent Administration. Should FASTR continue on course and be passed by both chambers of Congress, free, fair public access to research articles will become the law of the land – and not just the preference a President.

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Take Action: Fair Access to Science and Technology Research (FASTR) Act Being Marked Up

The Fair Access to Science and Technology Research (FASTR) Act is being marked up.

Here's an excerpt from the SPARC announcement:

After a month of intense conversations and negotiations, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) will bring the "Fair Access to Science and Technology Research (FASTR) Act" up for mark-up on Wednesday, July 29th. The language that will be considered is an amended version of FASTR, officially known as the 'Johnson-Carper Substitute Amendment,' which was officially filed by the HSGAC leadership late on Friday afternoon, per committee rules.

There are two major changes from the original bill language to be particularly aware of. Specifically, the amendment

Replaces the six month embargo period with "no later than 12 months, but preferably sooner," as anticipated; and

Provides a mechanism for stakeholders to petition federal agencies to 'adjust' the embargo period if the 12 months does not serve "the public, industries, and the scientific community."

To support the bill and communicate your concerns, see: "Help Move FASTR" "Secure Open Access to Taxpayer-Funded Research"

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"’Total Cost of Ownership’ of Scholarly Communication: Managing Subscription and APC Payments Together"

Stuart Lawson has self-archived "'Total Cost of Ownership' of Scholarly Communication: Managing Subscription and APC Payments Together."

Here's an excerpt:

Managing subscription journals and open access charges together has created challenges which may in part be dealt with by offsetting the two revenue streams against each other. In order to do this, it is necessary to have reliable financial data about the extent of the two interacting markets. Jisc Collections has been undertaking data collection regarding universities' article publication charge (APC) expenditure. This process is difficult without a standardized way of recording data, so Jisc Collections has developed a standard data collection template and is helping institutions to release data openly. If available data become more comprehensive and transparent, then all parties (libraries, publishers, research funders, and intermediaries) will have better knowledge of the APC market and can more accurately predict the effects of offsetting.

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"SHARE Community Stakeholders Convene Working Meeting in Washington, DC"

SHARE has released "SHARE Community Stakeholders Convene Working Meeting in Washington, DC."

Here's an excerpt:

Accomplishments since the first SHARE Community Meeting in October 2014 include the DuraSpace webinar series, launch of the share-research.org website and the SHARE Notify beta, and surpassing the milestone of one million research release events included in SHARE Notify. Currently in the works are partnerships with IRIS [http://iris.isr.umich.edu/] and ORCID and a pending grant proposal to fund Phase II of SHARE.

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"Emerald Group Publishing Tests ZEN, Increases Prices: What Does It Mean?"

Richard Poynder has published "Emerald Group Publishing Tests ZEN, Increases Prices: What Does It Mean?" in Open and Shut?

Here's an excerpt:

So why has Emerald chosen to trial ZEN [Zero Embargo Now] with some of it library journals, what role did the LAG play in the decision, and what do members of the LAG feel about the associated 70% increase in the APCs of 32 engineering and technology journals?

In the hope of finding out I emailed Emerald and asked where I could find a list of advisory group members. It turns out that these are not publicly available.

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Scopus Will Include Open Access Indicator for Indexed Journals

As of July 29, Scopus will include an open access indicator for indexed journals.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

Out of the +21,000 active journals indexed in Scopus, 3,785 are currently (June 2015) registered as Open Access (OA) journals. . . .

In Scopus, journals are registered as being OA journals only if they are registered as Gold OA or Subsidized OA at one or both of the following sources: Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) and the Directory of Open Access Scholarly Resources (ROAD).

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Who Needs Open Access? Greek Academic Libraries Do

The Hellenic Academic Libraries Link (HEAL-Link) has ended its contracts with all e-journal publishers due to the financial crisis.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement (news item link scrolls on banner):

HEAL-Link informs you of the termination of the agreements with all publishers as of 01.07.2015 due to the inability to collect the remaining half of the budget for the current year, despite the efforts that have been made and are continued, in cooperation with the Board of Rectors and the Ministry of Education. A

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CHORUS and ORCID Sign Memorandum of Understanding

CHORUS and ORCID have signed a memorandum of understanding.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

Our plans include supporting simple and non-ambiguous links between researchers and funders by linking CHORUS article records to ORCID ID researcher records, building awareness of the ORCID registry among funding agency researchers and administrators, and encouraging the use of persistent identifiers for researchers and organizations to support public access to research works.

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Emerald Announces Zero Embargo Trial for Library and Information Science Journals

Emerald has announced a zero embargo trial for library and information science journals.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

Emerald Group Publishing, global publisher linking research and practice, today announces the launch of its Green Open Access, Zero Embargo trial, applicable for all mandated articles submitted to the company's Library and Information Science (LIS) and selected Information and Knowledge Management journals.

This change allows authors to deposit the post-print version of the article into their respective institutional repository immediately upon official publication, rather than after Emerald's 24 month embargo period for mandated articles. . . .

The evaluation of this trial will help to inform future Emerald Open Access initiatives. Emerald will work with its Librarian Advisory Group to assess the impact of the trial, by monitoring the quality and volume of submissions, feedback from authors, and readership figures from both the Emerald platform and institutional repositories.

"Dutch Universities Start Elsevier Boycott—Will This Be a Game Changer or Will Publisher Profits Remain Unaffected?"

LSE Impact of Social Sciences has released "Dutch Universities Start Elsevier Boycott—Will This Be a Game Changer or Will Publisher Profits Remain Unaffected?."

Here's an excerpt:

Led by vice chancellors, Dutch universities have recently announced plans for a country-wide boycott of the academic publisher Elsevier. This boycott has the potential to be a significant game changer in the relationship between the research community and the world's largest academic publisher. But how will it affect open access momentum in the UK and around the world? Here we have brought together two expert views on the subject. Danny Kingsley, the Head of Scholarly Communication at University of Cambridge and Steven Harnad, longtime advocate for open access, share their views on what the Dutch boycott can hope to achieve.

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"Scholarly Communication as a Core Competency: Prevalence, Activities, and Concepts of Scholarly Communication Librarianship as Shown through Job Advertisements"

Craig Finlay et al. have published "Scholarly Communication as a Core Competency: Prevalence, Activities, and Concepts of Scholarly Communication Librarianship as Shown through Job Advertisements" in the Journal of Librarianship and Scholarly Communication.

Here's an excerpt:

INTRODUCTION The dynamic nature of the scholarly communication landscape has produced a need for the creation of positions specifically focused on these issues. Yet, no clear title or job description for scholarly communication librarianship has emerged. The lack of standardization in this area is problematic for educators, professionals, and prospective professionals. METHODS Analyzing 13,869 job advertisements published between 2006 and 2014, this study attempts to examine the prevalence of scholarly communication terms and activities and the types of positions in which these terms and activities appear. RESULTS This study finds an increase in the use of the term "scholarly communication" in the title or text of job advertisements over the last nine years, with more than 7% of positions in the most recent year containing the term. CONCLUSIONS An analysis of the levels of engagement with scholarly communication demonstrates that jobs with substantial levels of engagement are increasing; whereas those requiring passive knowledge or awareness of scholarly communication issues are decreasing. Jobs with scholarly communication as a primary job responsibility are differentiated by a focus on repositories, open access, copyright, authors' rights, and intellectual property differentiate core scholarly communication positions.

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"Dutch Boycott of Elsevier—A Game Changer?"

Danny Kingsley has published "Dutch Boycott of Elsevier—A Game Changer?" in Unlocking Research.

Here's an excerpt:

A long running dispute between Dutch universities and Elsevier has taken an interesting turn. Yesterday Koen Becking, chairman of the Executive Board of Tilburg University who has been negotiating with scientific publishers about an open access policy on behalf of Dutch universities with his colleague Gerard Meijer, announced a plan to start boycotting Elsevier.

As a first step in boycotting the publisher, the Association of Universities in the Netherlands (VSNU) has asked all scientists that are editor in chief of a journal published by Elsevier to give up their post. If this way of putting pressure on the publishers does not work, the next step would be to ask reviewers to stop working for Elsevier. After that, scientists could be asked to stop publishing in Elsevier journals. . . .

The 2015 Dutch boycott is significant. Typically negotiations with publishers occur at an institutional level and with representatives from the university libraries. This makes sense as libraries have long standing relationships with publishers and understand the minutiae of the licencing processes . However the Dutch negotiations have been led by the Vice Chancellors of the universities. It is a country-wide negotiation at the highest level. And Vice Chancellors have the ability to request behaviour change of their research communities.

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