The Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) has announced that it has introduced a new suite of web-based tools to facilitate fact-based campus policy discussions on open access (OA). This includes key topics such as copyright, journal sustainability, disciplinary differences and author rights.
With these tools, universities can learn about campus OA policies implemented to date, including that of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences, through videos and white papers publicly available online. They can also request copies of offline documents, including a list of ‘Responses to Common Misconceptions’ related to OA policies and ‘Choice Points’ to be addressed in policy development. Users may also request support from a group of expert advisers who helped to develop these resources; have experience with gaining faculty acceptance for an institutional OA policy; and who stand by to answer questions that remain after examining available tools.
SPARC has also announced that the University of Kansas recently became the first public university in the US to adopt a policy to ensure free and open access to the results of research outputs. The introduction of SPARC’s tool follows a growing number of colleges and universities embarking on the path toward an institutional OA policy.
According to SPARC, those familiar with OA understand the benefits that flow from providing enhanced access to scholarly journal articles. They also understand that a well-designed institutional research access policy can bring scholarly outputs to the attention of new audiences around the world without disrupting any of the foundations of scholarly communication – such as peer review, academic freedom, or the sustainability of scholarly societies and their publications.
However, many faculty members and administrators are still unfamiliar with the specifics of OA. SPARC points out that timely, accurate information about the motivations and mechanics of an OA policy and how it would operate in connection with faculty publishing practices is of crucial importance to anyone about to embark on this path.
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