Category: Open Access

"Conflicting Academic Attitudes to Copyright Are Slowing the Move to Open Access"

Francis Dodds has published "Conflicting Academic Attitudes to Copyright Are Slowing the Move to Open Access" in LSE Impact of Social Sciences.

Here's an excerpt:

Moreover, many researchers are concerned to protect the integrity of their work by restricting its potential use by others. Some studies suggest that many academics across both the sciences and humanities are opposed to commercial reuse, adaptations or inclusion of their work in anthologies (a particular aspect of humanities publishing), whilst there are mixed views about allowing data mining of their work. An example of these contrasting views is the bioRxiv site which hosts preprint papers in biology. A study of the site by Lindsay McKenzie (2017) found that over a third of authors had selected the most restrictive Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND) license, which bars commercial use and “derivative” works, including translations and annotations. Another 29% had not selected any license which, by default, reserved all rights in the work, requiring permission from the author for copying and reuse. It is noticeable that the Scholarly Communications License has been criticised by both publishers and academics as being too inflexible.

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Creative Commons: State of the Commons 2017

The Creative Commons has released State of the Commons 2017.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

People, projects, and programs make up the bulk of this year’s report, but the data also supports our vision of a more creative, open world. 1.4 billion works is 200 million more than last year, and that growth has accelerated compared to the previous two years. To provide concrete examples: The Metropolitan Museum released 375,000 pieces of content under CC0 in February 2017. PLOS counts 7,000 editorial board members and 70,000+ volunteer peer reviewers to release 200,000 pieces of content. Wikipedia, one of our closest allies and partner in the “Big Open”, hosts 42 million freely licensed pieces of content. Our search tool has responded to 1,500,000 queries, and our website has been visited 50,000,000 times. And that’s only a part of our impact.

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"FAIR Principles for Library, Archive and Museum Collections: A Proposal for Standards for Reusable Collections"

Lukas Koster and Saskia Woutersen-Windhouwer have published "FAIR Principles for Library, Archive and Museum Collections: A Proposal for Standards for Reusable Collections" in the Code4Lib Journal.

Here's an excerpt:

Many heritage institutions would like their collections to be open and reusable but fail to achieve that situation because of organizational, legal and technological barriers. A set of guidelines and best practices is proposed to facilitate the process of making heritage collections reusable. These guidelines are based on the FAIR Principles for scholarly output (FAIR data principles [2014]), taking into account a number of other recent initiatives for making data findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable. The resulting FAIR Principles for Heritage Library, Archive and Museum Collections focus on three levels: objects, metadata and metadata records. Clarifications and examples of these proposed principles are presented, as well as recommendations for the assessment of current situations and implementations of the principles.

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"Exploring Possibilities to Use Bibliometric Data to Monitor Gold Open Access Publishing at the National Level"

Thed N. van Leeuwen et al. have published (Early View article) "Exploring Possibilities to Use Bibliometric Data to Monitor Gold Open Access Publishing at the National Level" in the Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology.

Here's an excerpt:

This article1 describes the possibilities to analyze open access (OA) publishing in the Netherlands in an international comparative way . . . We conducted a bibliometric baseline measurement to assess the current situation, to be able to measure developments over time. . . . The analysis presented in this article focuses on the various ways OA can be defined using the Web of Science, limiting the analysis mainly to Gold OA. From the data we collected we can conclude that the way OA is currently registered in various electronic bibliographic databases is quite unclear, and various methods applied deliver results that are different, although the impact scores derived from the data point in the same direction.

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"Balancing Influence in a Shifting Scholarly Communication Landscape"

Sarah Wipperman, Shawn Martin, and Chealsye Bowley have published "Balancing Influence in a Shifting Scholarly Communication Landscape" in College & Research Libraries News.

Here's an excerpt:

With the acquisition and creation of scholarly communication platforms/infrastructure by major commercial entities, the balance of influence continues to shift. The ACRL/SPARC Forum at the 2018 ALA Midwinter Meeting brought together library stakeholders for a conversation about how the library community can reassert its influence to shape the open access publishing landscape. Panelists focused on 1) Individual action: "What can one person do?" 2) Local coordinated action: "How can one group or institution effect change?" and 3) Collective action: "How can libraries work together to provide sustainable alternatives?"1

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"North, South, and Open Access: Jeff MacKie-Mason Responds from California"

Richard Poynder has published "North, South, and Open Access: Jeff MacKie-Mason Responds from California" in Open and Shut?.

Here's an excerpt:

This is the final part of an experiment in a matched interview process. It consists of Q&As with two OA advocates, one from the global North [Jeff MacKie-Mason, UC Berkeley's University Librarian and Chief Digital Scholarship Officer] and one from the global South [Mahmoud Khalifa, Library of Congress Cairo Office], along with their responses to each other’s Q&A. . . .

[MacKie-Mason] I'd like to clarify my position just a bit: I think journal flipping is the only practical way of achieving *widespread* (near-universal) open access in the near term. I do think we can make some, important but limited progress with other models, such as new overlay journals on green OA repositories, and transferring ownership of some journals from subscription-based publishers to academy (e.g., university) ownership.

See also: "North, South, and Open Access: The View from California with Jeff MacKie-Mason"; "North, South, and Open Access: The View from Egypt with Mahmoud Khalifa"; and "North, South, and Open Access: Mahmoud Khalifa Responds from Egypt."

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"Data Sharing in PLOS ONE: An Analysis of Data Availability Statements"

Lisa M. Federer et al. have published "Data Sharing in PLOS ONE: An Analysis of Data Availability Statements" in PLOS ONE.

Here's an excerpt:

A number of publishers and funders, including PLOS, have recently adopted policies requiring researchers to share the data underlying their results and publications. Such policies help increase the reproducibility of the published literature, as well as make a larger body of data available for reuse and re-analysis. In this study, we evaluate the extent to which authors have complied with this policy by analyzing Data Availability Statements from 47,593 papers published in PLOS ONE between March 2014 (when the policy went into effect) and May 2016. Our analysis shows that compliance with the policy has increased, with a significant decline over time in papers that did not include a Data Availability Statement. However, only about 20% of statements indicate that data are deposited in a repository, which the PLOS policy states is the preferred method. More commonly, authors state that their data are in the paper itself or in the supplemental information, though it is unclear whether these data meet the level of sharing required in the PLOS policy. These findings suggest that additional review of Data Availability Statements or more stringent policies may be needed to increase data sharing.

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Funder Perspectives on Open Infrastructure

The Open Research Funders Group has released Funder Perspectives on Open Infrastructure.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

The Open Research Funders Group (ORFG) recently conducted a survey to better understand funder perspectives with respect to supporting open infrastructure. Sixteen organizations completed the questionnaire, evenly split between ORFG members and other funding bodies. The results suggest an underlying support for open initiatives and the infrastructure buttressing these activities. This is tempered by reservations about how best to discern and smartly invest in open infrastructure projects.

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"The Types, Frequencies, and Findability of Disciplinary Grey Literature within Prominent Subject Databases and Academic Institutional Repositories"

Wanda R. Marsolek et al. have published "The Types, Frequencies, and Findability of Disciplinary Grey Literature within Prominent Subject Databases and Academic Institutional Repositories" in the Journal of Librarianship and Scholarly Communication.

Here's an excerpt:

INTRODUCTION In many disciplines grey literature, or works that are more ephemeral in nature and are not typically published through traditional scholarly channels, are heavily used alongside traditional materials and sources. We were interested in the type and frequency of grey literature in subject databases and in North American institutional repositories (IRs) as well as what disciplines use grey literature. METHODS Over 100 subject databases utilized by academic researchers and the IRs of over 100 academic institutions were studied. Document type, search capabilities, and level of curation were noted. RESULTS Grey literature was present in the majority (68%) of the literature databases and almost all IRs (95%) contained grey literature. DISCUSSION Grey literature was present in the subject databases across all broad disciplines including arts and humanities. In these resources the most common types of grey literature were conference papers, technical reports, and theses and dissertations. The findability of the grey literature in IRs varied widely as did evidence of active collection development. CONCLUSION Recommendations include the development of consistent metadata standards for grey literature to enhance searching within individual resources as well as supporting future interoperability. An increased level of collection development of grey literature in institutional repositories would facilitate preservation and increase the findability and reach of grey literature.

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"Library-Mediated Deposit: A Gift to Researchers or a Curse on Open Access? Reflections from the Case of Surrey"

Christine Antiope Daoutis et al. have published "Library-Mediated Deposit: A Gift to Researchers or a Curse on Open Access? Reflections from the Case of Surrey" in Publications.

Here's an excerpt:

The University of Surrey was one of the first universities to set up an open access repository. The Library was the natural stakeholder to lead this project. Over the years, the service has been influenced by external and internal factors, and consequently the Library's role in developing the OA agenda has changed. Here, we present the development and implementation of a fully mediated open access service at Surrey. The mediated workflow was introduced following an operational review, to ensure higher compliance and engagement from researchers. The size and responsibilities of the open access team in the Library increased to comply with internal and external policies and to implement the fully mediated workflow. As a result, there has been a growth in deposit rates and overall compliance. We discuss the benefits and shortcomings of Library mediation; its effects on the relationship between the Library, senior management and researchers, and the increasing necessity for the Library to lead towards a culture of openness beyond policy compliance.

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"National Licence Negotiations Advancing the Open Access Transition—A View from the UK"

Liam Earney has published "National Licence Negotiations Advancing the Open Access Transition—A View from the UK" in Insights.

Here's an excerpt:

Jisc Collections has had agreements with open access (OA) publishers since the mid-2000s. In 2014, following the UK government’s response to the Finch Report, it started to target hybrid OA via 'offsetting agreements' that covered both subscriptions and article processing charges for OA.

This article will provide a status update on OA negotiations in the UK in the context of the UK's progress towards OA. It will look at some of the concerns about the progress of OA in the UK, how negotiations have evolved in response, and will look at prospects for their future direction.

See also: "National Licence Negotiations Advancing the Open Access Transition—A View from Sweden."

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"Data-Driven Transition: Joint Reporting of Subscription Expenditure and Publication Costs"

Irene Barbers et al. have published "Data-Driven Transition: Joint Reporting of Subscription Expenditure and Publication Costs" in Publications.

Here's an excerpt:

The transition process from the subscription model to the open access model in the world of scholarly publishing brings a variety of challenges to libraries. Within this evolving landscape, the present article takes a focus on budget control for both subscription and publication expenditure with the opportunity to enable the shift from one to the other. To reach informed decisions with a solid base of data to be used in negotiations with publishers, the diverse already-existing systems for managing publications costs and for managing journal subscriptions have to be adapted to allow comprehensive reporting on publication expenditure and subscription expenditure. In the case presented here, two separate systems are described and the establishment of joint reporting covering both these systems is introduced. Some of the results of joint reporting are presented as an example of how such a comprehensive monitoring can support management decisions and negotiations. On a larger scale, the establishment of the National Open Access Monitor in Germany is introduced, bringing together a diverse range of data from several already-existing systems, including, among others, holdings information, usage data, and data on publication fees. This system will enable libraries to access all relevant data with a single user interface.

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"Supporting Open Access at Kent—New Staff Roles"

Rosalyn Bass and Sarah Slowe have published "Supporting Open Access at Kent—New Staff Roles" in Publications.

Here's an excerpt:

Open Access has been supported at the University of Kent from an early stage with the establishment of the Kent Academic Repository in 2007. Initially, this work was accommodated within the existing library staff structure, but the pace of change, funder requirements, and a new university plan meant that support for Open Access needed to become explicit. Therefore, a research support team was established using a matrix working system1. This article details this new structure and reflects on the benefits and challenges it brings.

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Version 9 of the Research Data Curation Bibliography Released

Digital Scholarship has released Version 9 of the Research Data Curation Bibliography. This selective bibliography includes over 750 English-language articles, books, and technical reports that are useful in understanding the curation of digital research data in academic and other research institutions. Printed from the HTML page, it is over 130 pages long.

The Research Data Curation Bibliography covers topics such as research data creation, acquisition, metadata, provenance, repositories, management, policies, support services, funding agency requirements, open access, peer review, publication, citation, sharing, reuse, and preservation.

Most sources have been published from January 2009 through December 2017; however, a limited number of earlier key sources are also included. The bibliography includes links to included works.

Abstracts are included in this bibliography if a work is under a Creative Commons Attribution License (BY and national/international variations), a Creative Commons public domain dedication (CC0), or a Creative Commons Public Domain Mark and this is clearly indicated in the work.

The Research Data Curation Bibliography is under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Journal Access Problem Note

The International Journal of Digital Curation server is having access problems today resulting in the following error message: "DB Error: Can't create/write to file '/var/tmp/#sql_565_1.MAI' (Errcode: 28)."

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"The Influence of Journal Publisher Characteristics on Open Access Policy Trends"

Elizabeth Gadd, Jenny Fry, and Claire Creaser have published "The Influence of Journal Publisher Characteristics on Open Access Policy Trends" in Scientometrics.

Here's an excerpt:

Examines SHERPA/RoMEO publisher open access (OA) policy information for 100 publishers over a 13 year period (2004–2016) to consider whether their size, type or country (UK or US) affected the development of their OA policy over time. A publisher's RoMEO colour code, whether they offered a Gold OA option, and the mean number of restrictions as to when, how and where papers may be self-archived, were all mapped. Kruskal–Wallis tests were run to assess whether the differences between their 2004 and 2016 positions were statistically significant. Finds that the growth of Green and Gold OA policy approaches has not been evenly distributed amongst publishers with some significant differences amongst publishers of different size, types and country (UK and US).

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"Converting the Literature of a Scientific Field to Open Access through Global Collaboration: The Experience of SCOAP3 in Particle Physics"

Alexander Kohls and Orcid and Salvatore MeleOrcid have published "Converting the Literature of a Scientific Field to Open Access through Global Collaboration: The Experience of SCOAP3 in Particle Physics" in Publications.

Here's an excerpt:

Gigantic particle accelerators, incredibly complex detectors, an antimatter factory and the discovery of the Higgs boson—this is part of what makes CERN famous. Only a few know that CERN also hosts the world largest Open Access initiative: SCOAP3. The Sponsoring Consortium for Open Access Publishing in Particle Physics started operation in 2014 and has since supported the publication of 20,000 Open Access articles in the field of particle physics, at no direct cost, nor burden, for individual authors worldwide. SCOAP3 is made possible by a 3000-institute strong partnership, where libraries re-direct funds previously used for subscriptions to 'flip' articles to 'Gold Open Access'. With its recent expansion, the initiative now covers about 90% of the journal literature of the field. This article describes the economic principles of SCOAP3, the collaborative approach of the partnership, and finally summarizes financial results after four years of successful operation.

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"Malware in OA"

Walt Crawford has published "Malware in OA" in Walt at Random.

Here's an excerpt:

I've finished the first pass. There are a lot of journals with malware problems: 410, as compared to 67 in last year's run.

Yes, Indonesia makes up the bulk of them–but by no means all.

See also the spreadsheet of infected journals.

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"SUNY Board of Trustees Open Access Resolution"

Darren Chase has published "SUNY Board of Trustees Open Access Resolution" in the Stony Brook University Libraries Open Access blog.

On March 22, 2018, the SUNY Board of Trustees passed an Open Access Policy and System Repository Resolution put forward by Chancellor Kristina M. Johnson.

The resolution instructs all SUNY campuses to adopt "an open access policy that recognizes each campus's unique mission and culture by no later than March 31, 2020."

See also: SUNY Board of Trustees Open Access Policy and System Repository Resolution and Stony Brook University Open Access Policy (2017).

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