I recently and belatedly woke up to the implications of the move towards Gold Open Access recommended by the so-called Finch Report. Researching the issues raised by the report on behalf of the International Society for First World War Studies, I came across a range of useful resources which may be of help to other colleagues and organizations.
Along with members of the Finch Working Group, the British Government and proponents of Gold OA have been moving fast and aggressively to impose a model whereby authors are required to pay to publish the results of their scientific and scholarly work.
It is essential academic researchers and independent scholars mobilize to mitigate the risks a move to Gold OA would entail. The debate over Open Access is a complex matter, where scholarly and scientific practices, public policy, copyright laws, market mechanisms and professional service often collide and pull in different directions. It is therefore essential to make all relevant information available for stakeholders to adopt an informed.
The following list is – by no means – comprehensive, let alone exhaustive. I will try to update it as the debate progresses.
General Resources on Open Access
Overview of Open Access, University of Liège
Peter Suber’s Open Access policy options
Open Access Publishing on Scoop (curated by Bernard Rentier)
Open Access to Scholarly Publishing, by Penny Carnaby, 22 October 2012
Open access in Africa – green and gold, the impact factor, ‘mainstream’ and ‘local’ research, 4 September 2012
OpenEdition Academic Committee’s statement on Open Access (Platinum and Freemium OA), 12 October 2012
Brussels declaration on open access, 22 October 2012
Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences Researchers Survey by OAPEN-UK
The Finch Report
Clip: The Finch Report according to… Professor Dame Janet Finch CBE
Research Libraries UK Conference, 2012
Responses to the Finch Report
International Society for First World War Studies, 9 November 2012
Royal Historical Society’s response, October 2012
British Academy’s response, 26 July 2012
American Historical Association’s Statement on Scholarly Journal Publishing, 24 September 2012
Government to open up publicly funded research, 16 July 2012
HEFCE’s Statement on Open Access, 16 July 2012
The Publishers’ Association welcomes a clear UK Government policy on access to research publications, 16 July 2012
Government invests £10 million to help universities move to open access, 7 September 2012
The Finch Report and RCUK Open Access policy: How can libraries respond? by Natalia Madjarevic
“Not So Fast on ‘Open Access'”, Inside Higher Ed, 24 September2012
Access All Areas: The Finch Report, by Nigel Warburton, ALCS News, 20 November 2012
Stephen Curry on Open Access
Research Libraries UK Conference, 2012
Journal of Victorian Culture Statement, 21 November 2012
Past and Present Statement
Economic History Society response and update
Open Access: HEFCE, REF2020 and the Threat to Academic Freedom
Research Funders’ Policies and Statements
British Government
Public access to publicly-funded research, by David Willetts, 2 May 2012
RCUK
RCUK announces new Open Access policy, 16 July 2012
RCUK Open Access Policy – Our Preference for Gold, 24 October 2012
RCUK Open Access Policy – When to go Green and When to go Gold, 28 September 2012
Research councils announce £17m for open access block grants, 8 November 2012
Going for Gold? The RCUK policy on Access to Research Outputs
Mark Thorley, Chair RCUK Research Outputs Network
Research Libraries UK Conference, 2012
European Union
Scientific data: open access to research results will boost Europe’s innovation capacity, 17 July 2012
OpenAIRE – Open Access Infrastructure for Research in Europe
Publishers’ Policies and Statements
Publishers Support Sustainable Open Access
Taylor & Francis Open and Routledge Open
Directory of Open Access Journals
Sherpa – Publishers with Paid Options for Open Access
Sherpa – Publisher copyright policies & self-archiving
Universities’ Policies and Statements
Harvard’s Open Access Policies
McGill Librarians announce support of Open Access movement, 26 October 2012