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In order to stimulate the discussion about open access to scientific information, this paper examines an open philosophy, which is related to the use of tools, strategies, methodologies and policies that points out a new way of depicting the scholarly communication process - particularly in terms of publishing - while providing a basis for its interpretation, as well. This new model is based on a growing concern about the availability of knowledge to a greater number of people interested in it. Such knowledge is created as a result of both scientific research (scientific knowledge) and the action of human beings on the society (cultural heritage). The text focuses solely on questions related to open access to scientific knowledge. In this regard, it deals with three issues: the major international initiatives on open access; new business models for scholarly and scientific journals as a response to these initiatives; the role performed by funding agencies in this context, aiming at the validation of these new models. It also introduces into the discussion the issue of disciplinary differences determined by communication patterns within scholarly communities concerning information production, dissemination and use. In conclusion, the paper presents a brief analysis of the impact that the open access movement produces upon the main scholarly communication actors, namely, universities and their researchers, scientific publishers and funding agencies.
This paper gives an account of the origin and development of the Open Access Initiative (OAI) and the digital technology that enables its existence. The researcher explains the crisis in scholarly communications and how open access (CIA) can reform the present system. OA has evolved two systems for delivering research articles: CIA archives or repositories and OA journals. They differ in that CIA journals conduct peer review and CIA archives do not. Discussion focuses on how these two delivery systems work, including such topics as OAI, local institutional repositories, Eprints self-archiving software, cross-archives searching, metadata harvesting, and the individuals who invented CIA and organizations that support it.
The paper sets out to re-assess the role for SUNCAT as national union serials catalogue, considering how it might move beyond its original remit as a simple route to discover and locate serials, to be a component in a system that also supports request and access to serial content. This is set within the context of the needs of scholarly communication and the particular role played by journals. The serials' community is faced with a paradigm shift, which challenges existing publishing practices. Union catalogues have traditionally played a role in resource sharing, often in association with schemes of inter-library loan. With online access to content and telematic opportunity, there are new possibilities that could also build on collaborative action. Opportunity is taken to review other union catalogues of serials, centralised and virtual, that are defined by theme or geographical location, both regional and national.
The push for open access is to encourage new avenues of disseminating information quickly and broadly to advance knowledge. Self-archiving in open access repositories, metadata harvesting, electronic resource management, interoperability in searching, etc. are presenting a whole new dimension of the information landscape. Information professionals working in libraries have been facing tremendous challenges in disseminating scholarly material and learning objects emanating from their institutions. Librarians serving in universities and academic institutions can launch a program to help faculty pay for publishing in open access journals, introduced the concept and secured the funding through various means. A pro-active approach in information handling and collaboration with IT staff and academics are essential for open access to be sustained. The skills and competencies for information professionals are outlined, along with challenges they may face in developing sustainable models for open access repositories. The paper elaborates the different roles that information professionals have been playing in the development and promotion of digital resources in this open access era and offers recommendations for further improvement.
Specialists in serials have been dealing with the effects of an imbalance in the scholarly communication process for some time. The increase in scholarly output coupled with the decreasing ability of libraries to provide access to that output due to spiraling journal costs has created tensions for libraries and their communities. By advocating and providing a means to provide open access to scholarly output, institutional repositories have been promoted as one strategy for redefining the scholarly communication model. Since January 2003, the University of Oregon libraries have been exploring this approach. The article will discuss the challenges and opportunities that such repositories face and examine their effectiveness in changing the nature of scholarly communication. This will be done primarily through a case study of the experience of the University of Oregon Libraries.
This paper reports on Bioline International's (BI) technical infrastructure, workflow, and hybrid strategy of combing Open Access Publishing (Gold) and Open Access Archiving (Green) to improve the access and visibility of published research from developing countries. It further shows how BI uses open source technologies (e.g. XML, Perl, OAI-PMH) and software (Eprints and DSpace) to promote the widest distribution and discovery of research information for the benefit of international scientific exchange. Data on the general usage pattern of materials on BI are presented. Using the Journal of Postgraduate Medicine as a case study, the effects of open access in terms of improved visibility, citation and author submission are further illustrated. In the process, this paper demonstrates how BI has evolved in response to the changes in technologies and resultant opportunities.
Purpose
Online open access (OA) to research publications comes to scholarship as a vision that makes sense and is congruent with the aims of science and scholarship. It is argued that research, often funded out of the public purse, should be a public good. Given its visionary characteristics and its congruence with the aims of scholarship, the purpose of this paper is to examine why OA is not practiced by all researchers, all the time, or more encouraged by library managers.
Design/methodology/approach
The findings reported in the paper are built upon analyses of the literature, the current discussion occurring in e‐lists and other public forums, and upon qualitative research using observation, document analysis, interview techniques and thematic analysis conducted as part of a PhD study in two Australian universities.
Findings
One of the universities had a long‐standing institutional mandate to encourage OA and the other did not. In terms of findings, of the universities studied, the institution with the mandate not only had a far greater proportion of its research output in its OA institutional repository but also the researchers and authors interviewed there had a deep understanding of, and engagement with, issues surrounding not just scholarly publishing but also OA and other publishing options. Further, OA and the mandate policy were reported by university executives as providing benefits both to individual researchers and to the institution as a whole.
Originality/value
In analyzing the relationships and entanglements that exist between authors, universities, publishers and other actors we see how these reinforce the current publishing paradigm. While proposals for mandates are not new, this paper illustrates how one is acting in practice. It proposes that despite reservations among academic library managers a mandate can work in practice. Sometimes, a new actor, such as a mandate or deposit policy is required, to assist library and repository managers, to encourage authors to look beyond their existing frames and embrace OA.
The article opens with a critical analysis of the dominant business model of for-profit, academic publishing, arguing that the extraordinarily high profits of the big publishers are dependent upon a double appropriation that exploits both academic labour and universities' financial resources. Against this model, we outline four possible responses: the further development of open access repositories, a fair trade model of publishing regulation, a renaissance of the university presses, and, finally, a move away from private, for-profit publishing companies toward autonomous journal publishing by editorial boards and academic associations. The poverty of 'excellence' As academics our lives are dominated by journals, very much like the one you are holding in your hands right now, or, more realistically, are browsing on the screen of your computer. Although the bulk of our daily working lives are occupied with teaching, marking, administration and the minutiae of organizational politics, journals are the sine qua non of early 21st century academic life, at least in business schools. Whilst other disciplines have retained the book length research monograph as the apogee of academic achievement, in management and organization studies, as in many of the social sciences, it is the publication of articles in highly ranked journals that will make or break an academic career.
Just what does usage mean? And how does it relate to value? Is there a fair way to ascertain the value of resources? In regards to library resources, “use” can simply be an arbitrary quantitative concept. Knowing that searches and sessions are considered input measures while result clicks and views are output measures helps the process. With electronic resources, we parse our usage statistics (when we can get them) to arrive at a cost per use, and define whether that use is a view, a printout, or a download. Of course, there are discrepancies as we examine different e-resources; for instance, cost-per-use can be very different with e-books—the definition of a “section” varies from vendor to vendor, and vendors' attempts to limit mass downloading mean that some e-book titles have page number limits with no correlation to chapter length. Analysis of usage data and other qualitative measures as part of a systematic review of current and potential e-resources highlights underutilized resources, access issues, and potential sources. We review and study those indicators of use to arrive at a conclusion of value, where we look at the bottom line—does the institution receive a good value in regards to particular resources, and should they be retained or replaced.
Following the agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) intellectual property rights, and more specifically copyright, have become the subject of highly politicized conflicts. In this paper we analyze how these conflicts shifted from the political arena to private standard-setting sites, where two opposing coalitions of actors pursued competing initiatives – an industry coalition which aimed at enforcing copyright protection through Digital Rights Management and an emerging coalition of civil society actors which sought to develop a digital commons based on copyleft licenses. Paradoxically, the industry coalition, which had very successfully lobbied international organizations, ran into trouble developing and enforcing private regulation in the market place, while the civil society coalition proved to be more effective in the market than in the political sphere. The findings of our analysis indicate that the strategic use of organizational forms and collective action frames can be more decisive for the mobilization of users than material resources, and that the success of collective action frames depends on their compatibility with user practices. Based on the argument that regime shifting from intergovernmental to private governance can open up new and favorable spaces for weak actors to experiment with alternative forms of regulation, the paper contributes to the literature on the politics of regime complexity. The paper furthermore highlights the importance of studying non-elite actors and their day-to-day practices to gain a better understanding of changes within the international political economy.
This paper describes the growth of Open Access (OA) repositories and journals as reported by monitoring initiatives such as ROAR (Registry of Open Access Repositories), Open DOAR (Open Directory of Open Access Repositories), DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals), Directory of Web Ranking of World Repositories by the Cybermetrics Laboratory in Spain and published literature. The performance of Malaysian OA repositories and journals is highlighted. The strength of OA channels in increasing visibility and citations are evidenced by research findings. It is proposed that libraries champion OA initiatives by making university or institutional governance aware; encouraging institutional journal publishers to adopt OA platform; collaborating with research groups to jumpstart OA institutional initiatives and to embed OA awareness into user and researcher education programmes. By actively involved, libraries will be free of permission, licensing and archiving barriers usually imposed in traditional publishing situation.
Purpose – This paper has two primary purposes: to explore common copyright-related problems that arise when librarians promote the use of digital library resources; and to investigate college students' misconceptions of copyright laws that arise when the students use these resources. Design/methodology/approach – Four librarians in charge of the management of digital library resources were interviewed regarding student-users' problematic copyright-infringement behaviors that these librarians often encountered when they promoted the use of digital library resources. Also, a semi-structured questionnaire with nine questions about copyright-related behaviors was developed and distributed to college students. Students needed not only to identify whether the behavior was acceptable, but also to explain the reasons for their identification. A total of 109 valid sets of data were collected from 18 universities or colleges, the sets comprising responses from 48 undergraduate, 56 postgraduate, and five doctoral students. Findings – The librarian-interview results indicate that students' problematic behaviors included systematic downloading, distribution to unauthorized users, and going beyond the purpose and character of academic use. The student-survey results indicate that students had four major areas of misunderstanding about copyright laws when using digital library resources: the digital resources should be shared; the downloaded digital resources are all legitimately authorized and permitted; all educational use is fair use; and any downloading is permitted as long as students are paying tuition. Originality/value – This paper explores students' understanding and misunderstandings that arose when students used the school digital library resources and discusses implications of these results for librarians and libraries with regard to the design of related instruction. The paper also presents interpretations of students' thoughts and conduct, as well as some future possible research topics.
Proceedings of the Digital Heritage Third International Conference, EuroMed 2010, Lemessos, Cyprus, November 8-13, 2010. The unique value of cultural heritage has long been recognized together with the need for accurate and detailed information in order to preserve and manage cultural heritage material. Any organization whose mission includes promoting access to information is aware of the value of digital collections. For the last few years, digital technology has become very familiar in cultural organizations, providing enhanced access to the content. This paper gives information about Ktisis (http://ktisis.cut.ac.cy), the institutional repository of the Cyprus University of Technology (CUT). Ktisis was developed by the Library and Information Services of CUT. The paper reflects on the technical issues that the Library had to face in the preparation of this project and the strategy that had to be defined in order to tackle them. Such issues, among others, include the file and metadata format, the design and implementation software, etc.
The stranglehold that commercial publishers have over scholarly publishing and the high prices of their journals have led to the so–called “scholarly publication crisis.” Academic librarians and concerned scholars have had to advocate for alternative models of scholarly publishing that challenge the commercial publishers’ control, and the open access movement has taken hold. This article introduces the framework of critical theory into the discourse of open access. Critical theory contextualizes the scholarly publication crisis within the dominant information society framework of increasing commodification of information and enhanced global capitalism. While providing tools for analysis and enhanced advocacy, the critical theory framework links libraries with other advocacy movements related to freedom of access to information and opens up new democratic possibilities for engagement. In particular, electronic publishing is an area in which libraries have the potential to effect changes in a commercially dominated market, thereby contributing to greater equity of information access.
Scholarly publishing is concerned with the distribution of scholarly information through journals and conferences and other information media. As such scholarly publishing can be understood as a specific part of the information industry. With the advent of advanced information technologies many possible technologically enabled futures have been posited for scholarly publishing. This paper describes the current systems, processes and actors. While technological advancements appear to be enabling access to scholarly publications, economic conditions appear to limit access. In addition, a number of alternatives, such as open access are currently in play and there is uncertainty regarding the future of the scholarly publishing system. The system appears to be in the process of being reassembled. Conceptual models of the traditional, the electronic, and some possibilities for future developments in scholarly publishing are proposed, as are topics for future research in the information systems domain.
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to review the current literature and discussion on institutional repository (IR) and open access (OA) issues, to provide examples from the information systems (IS) literature, and to propose the use of IS literature and further research to inform understanding of institutional repository implementations for library managers.
Design/methodology/approach
Recent literature is reviewed to provide the background to, and current issues in, the development of institutional repositories to support open access to refereed research output.
Findings
The brief examples in this paper indicate that research can build on existing knowledge already gained by IS researchers to enhance our understanding of IR and their users. Research can also lead to learning to create more successful IR implementations and therefore the more successful dissemination of refereed research output and other intellectual and research contributions of institutions such as universities.
Practical implications
Existing research is identified, as are areas for potential research. Brief examples from IS literature are provided which may provide strategies for libraries and other organisations to speed up their implementation of IR to provide access to, and management of, their own institutions refereed research output.
Originality/value
The paper brings together recent opinion and research on IR and OA to provide librarians and other information managers with a review of the field, and proposes research on IR and OA building on existing IS as well as information management and librarianship research.
Purpose
Aims at providing a broad overview of some of the issues emerging from the growth in open access publishing, with specific reference to the use of repositories and open access journals.
Design/methodology/approach
A paper largely based on specific experience with institutional repositories and the internationally run E‐library and information science (LIS) archive.
Findings
The open access initiative is dramatically transforming the process of scholarly communication bringing great benefits to the academic world with an, as yet, uncertain outcome for commercial publishers.
Practical implications
Outlines the benefits of the open access movement with reference to repositories and open access journals to authors and readers alike and gives some food for thought on potential barriers to the complete permeation of the open access model, such as copyright restrictions and version control issues. Some illustrative examples of country‐specific initiatives and the international E‐LIS venture are given.
Originality/value
An attempt to introduce general theories and practical implications of the open access movement to those largely unfamiliar with the movement.
A revolution is underway in the role played by cyberinfrastructure and modern data services in the conduct of research and education. We live in an era of an unprecedented data volume from diverse sources, multidisciplinary analysis and synthesis, and active, learner-centered education emphasis. Complex environmental problems such as global change and water cycle transcend disciplinary and geographic boundaries, and their solution requires integrated earth system science approaches. Contemporary education strategies recommend adopting an Earth system science approach for teaching the geosciences, employing pedagogical techniques such as enquiry-based learning. The resulting transformation in geoscience education and research creates new opportunities for advancement and poses many challenges. The success of the scientific enterprise depends heavily on the availability of a state-of-the-art, robust, and flexible cyberinfrastructure, and on the timely access to quality data, products, and tools to process, manage, analyze, integrate, publish, and visualize those data.
Concomittantly, rapid advances in computing, communication, and information technologies have revolutionized the provision and use of data, tools and services. The profound consequences of Moore's Law and the explosive growth of the Internet are well known. On the other hand, how other technological trends have shaped the development of data services is less well understood. For example, the advent of digital libraries, web services, open standards and protocols have been important factors in shaping a new generation of cyberinfrastructure for solving key scientific and educational problems.
This paper presents a broad overview of these issues, along with a survey of key information technology trends, and discuses how those trends are enabling new approaches to applying data services for solving geoscientific problems.
Aim of this article is to offer an overview of the Open Access strategy and its innovative idea of a free scholarly communication. Following the worldwide debate on the crisis of the scholarly communication and the new opportunities of a networked environment, definitions, purposes and real advantages of the Open Access pathway are presented from a researcher's point of view. To maximize the impact and dissemination, by providing free access to the result of the research, two complementary roads are pointed out and explained self-archiving in open archives and publishing in Open Access journals. To let authors make their choice the most useful tools to find one's way in this new reality are shown: directories, search engines, citation tracking projects. The starting survey being done, the article deals in its conclusions with the Open Access challenges and most debated themes: impact and dissemination, new assessment measures alternative to the Impact Factor, new mandatory policies of the funding agencies, questions related to the copyright issue.
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