Open Access Gets Tough

Phil Sykes – University of Liverpool

UKSG Conference, Bournemouth 2012

Open Access Two Years Ago

Open Access Now

What’s happened so farWhere we are nowSome thoughts on what we do next

Covering three things

High hopes at the turn of the century and gentle progress since the Budapest Declaration in 2002

Laaslo and Bjork survey in 2010 indicated that◦2.7% of published articles going into

institutional repositories◦5.3% into Open Access journals◦2% Open Access in hybrid journals

History

UK Government very unsupportive to OA until recently

Profound change with the appointment of strongly pro open access David Willets

Willetts convened Round Table in March 2011 saying issue was not “whether” OA but “when” and “how

Finch Group convened to answer the question “How can we make a breakthrough”

History (2)

OA best taken forward through Gold Open Access

Earmarked funding should be provided by research funder for OA

Articles should be made available on a liberal Creative Commons licence (CC-BY)

Finch recommendations

Gold makes it possible for articles to be released on a liberal reuse licence. Minimum obstacles to text-mining etc.

Needed to recommend something that would effect a dynamic changes

Version of record of the article becomes instantly available- no waiting

Why did Finch go for Gold?

Researchers they funded had to publish on an OA basis in journals that complied with their policy

◦ Gold option; or◦ Green option with maximum six month

embargo period (12 in social sciences and humanities

◦ Provided funding for 45% to be published on Gold OA basis in 2013-14

◦ Required CC-BY

What happened next? : Research Councils UK policy

Allowed longer embargo periods for Green when the publisher provides a Gold option which the author doesn’t take up (Elsevier interpreting that as allowing 48 months!)

OA is “a journey”. No need for 100% of articles to be in OA form in year 1. 45% have to be in OA form in 2013-14; but no prescription as to balance of Gold and Green

RCUK made concessions

Central proposition: in order to be submitted to REF 2020 research outputs, subject to exceptions to be agreed, have to be published in OA form

Tone more even handed as between Green and Gold than RCUK policy

HEFCE not making any specified funding available

On licences and embargoes would like to align with RCUK

HEFCE consultation about consultations

The triumph of Open Access is now inevitable

Thank you. Goodbye

The End of History

The current situation results from a very fortuitous combination of circumstances: David Willetts and key personnel in funding bodies all strongly pro-OA

So we have to be resolute and make use of the improbable opportunity we now have.

We have to provide strong support nationally through our professional bodies and skilled advocacy on campus

We have to make Gold work too!

Then again, maybe not.

Open Access Gets Tough

Phil Sykes – University of Liverpool

UKSG Conference, Bournemouth 2012