Notes on good practices for university open-access policies

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  • Currently both the draft guide and these notes are private in the sense that no outside web pages deliberately link to them. However, the front page and this notes page link to the sub-pages, the pages link to one another, and some pages automatically created by the wiki software link to each. Is that private enough for our purposes?

To-do list

  • On the additional resources page, should we list the policies that start with Harvard-style language and then weaken it (to opt-in, encouragement) or make it incoherent?
    • We do want to list the Harvard-style policies. But the question is whether to list all or just some.
  • Decide whether to share this page of notes more widely, e.g. with the endorsing organizations.
  • Decide whether to launch a discussion forum. (Note that because these pages are closed to public edits, the wiki page discussion tabs are not available for discussion.)
    • Do we want a private discussion space for consulting experts and endorsing institutions?
    • Do we also want a public discussion forum? If we launch one, then link to it from the Revising this guide page.
  • Decide whether to omit any current recommendations until support or evidence for them solidifies further. We could move them to the list of questions under consideration on the Revising this guide page.
  • Should we add a glossary for terms like green, gold, gratis, and libre? It would be easy to do. Another possibility is to avoid these terms, and use longer workarounds in every case. Another possibility is to link to a place where the terms are already defined, such as my OA Overview.
  • Should we add entries on theses and dissertations? We do support OA policies for ETDs, and they would be university OA policies. As Iryma pointed out to us, BOAI-10 recommends (in 1.2) that universities adopt OA policies for ETDs.
  • Decide whether to make the preface a separate page, like the main sections. I'm inclined to keep it on the front page, at least while it is comparatively short.
    • As the lists of consulting experts and endorsing institutions grow long, we may remove them from the preface and give them pages to themselves.

Revisions to consider

This section both for possible new entries and suggested revisions to existing entries.

  • Should we add a new entry (section on Implementing) on how to handle the Elsevier policy allowing green OA except at institutions with OA mandates?
  • Should we add a new entry (section on Implementing) on handicap access to the repository?
  • In entry on "Deposit in the repository" (section on Drafting)
    • should we include a bullet on deposit in disciplinary repositories? here or in the implementation section?
  • In entry on "Waiver option" (section on Drafting)
    • Should we include language from the Harvard waiver letter? (Stuart)
    • Should we include a bullet on retroactive waivers? Here's Stuart's position on them: "Our interpretation (consistent with the language of the policy) has been that an author can request a waiver at any time after the policy applies (that is, when copyright vests in an article). Before or after publication is fine. The waiver would mean that the university would no longer hold a license to the article under the OAP (but might by some other means). One reason for this interpretation is allowing a simple remedy for an author who is dinged by a publisher after the article is published."
  • In entry on "Transferring rights back to the author" (section on Drafting)
    • Is it fair to say that authors retain/regain all rights to their work, or all rights except the right to allow commercial use?
    • See Stuart's note on this entry: "[SMS - tbd: also talk about university being able to transfer more limited rights through ToU.]" (PS deleted it from the Drafting page when Google started crawling the guide.)
  • In entry on "Transferring rights to others" (section on Drafting)
    • See Stuart's note on this entry: "[move to implementation and rework]." (PS deleted it from the Drafting page when Google started crawling the guide.)
  • In entry on "Other tips for the adoption process" (section on Adopting)
    • Make each bullet a separate entry? Avoid a "miscellany" entry like this one?
    • Where we recommend pointing out how a draft policy uses language successfully adopted and implemented elsewhere, consider linking to our list of institutions with harvard-style policies. If we do, we'll have to decide how to deal with institutions that started with harvard-style language and then botched it in revision.
  • In entry on "Individualized writing" (section on Implementing)
    • How does MIT do this? Get details from several other schools.
  • In entry on "Facilitating waivers" (section on Implementing)
    • Current draft says that Harvard can share the code for its web form. Is that true?
    • See Stuart's note: "[SMS - Discussion of "treaties."] (PS deleted it after Google started crawling the guide.)
  • In entry on "Repository withdrawals" (section on Implementing)
    • In response to a publisher take-down request, we recommend compliance. But should the article be removed or merely go dark?
    • Right now we take a position on what to do if the author wishes to withdraw an article already on deposit (e.g. because it is mistaken, embarrassing, superseded by a newer version, etc.). But in the section on Revising this policy we list is as a question still under consideration. Should we delete one or the other entry, at least for now?
  • In entry on "Working with publishers" (section on Implementing)
    • Add a bullet on Harvard-style "treaties" with publishers?
    • Add a bullet on auto-deposit by publishers? on permission to deposit published editions? on permission to harvest published editions from the pub web site? on embargoes?
  • Consider recommending two or more practices on certain points, where the practices may diverge but are all worth recommending.
    • We deliberately call this a guide to "good practices" and don't assume there is a single "best" practice on each point.
    • We already make plural recommendations on a few points, but we should be open to it on every point.
    • If we say somewhere that we are open in this way, we'll be more welcoming to different institutions and could bring in more endorsements. On the other hand, we may make it harder for ourselves to say no to weak suggestions.
  • Consider elaborating each entry with some rationale, including (as far as possible) links to literature and evidence.
  • Consider writing an executive summary of the guide, for rapid orientation or busy committees. Or consider making two editions, a short one for busy committees and a full-length version for everyone else.
  • Consider including a section on frequently asked questions and frequently heard objections and misunderstandings
  • Consider adding a glossary, especially for jargon and abbreviations: OA, TA, and terms like gold, green, etc.

Works to consult

  • **October 11, 2012, I put these on the "Additional resources" page. But we should still consult them, harvest their good ideas.

Eventually incorporate ideas and language from the following works. We needn't do this before the initial release.

Also consider listing and linking to these works. Should we include a short bibliography of recommended other reading?

  • the recommendations in the BOAI-10 doc

Notes toward a funder guide

  • Eventually make a second guide for funder policies. It could be a separate doc, or it could be a new section of the first doc.
    • In the latter case: "Follow all the recommendations above but with the following additions and subtractions based on the different circumstances of universities and funding agencies."
  • Entry on why it's OK for funders, but not universities, to limit author freedom to submit work to the journals of their choice.
  • Entry on offering funds to pay publication fees at fee-based OA journals.
    • Entry on similar support for no-fee OA journals.
  • Entry on allowing gold to substitute for green.
  • Entry on what counts as a repository suitable for deposit.
  • Entry on extra terms to require when funder pays for gold or when the author chooses gold as a substitute for green.
    • on libre
    • on immediacy
    • on version
  • Entry on what kinds of work arising from funded research are covered by the policy
    • yes scholarly articles; but what about data? books? conference presentations? theses and dissertations? digitization projects?
  • Entry making clear that policy only works that authors voluntarily publish or make public.
    • Needed to avoid interfering with authors who seek patents on patentable discoveries.
  • Entry on rights retention
    • what rights exactly
    • what addendum or addenda
    • what happens when author wants to publish in a journal that doesn't allow OA on those terms (no waivers)
  • Entry on sanctions for non-compliance
  • Entry on relevant differences (if any) between public and private funding agencies