Open%Access%policy%in%the%UK:a%turbulent%voyage

Professor'Stephen'Curry''Imperial'College

Queen’s'University,'Belfast21st'Oct'2013

2

Academic'Journals'were'a'great'idea…

…but'the'web'changes'everything

3

occamstypewriter.org/scurry/

More'webIbased'changes…

4

Warning:'amateur'at'work

A'wakeIup'call:'The'Research'Works'Act'(USA)'

"No$Federal$agency$may$engage$in$any$policy$that:causes$network$dissemina9on$of$any$private(sector,research,work,without,the,prior,consent,of,the,publisher,of$such$work"

Sponsors:'Reps'Carolyn'Maloney'(DINY)'and'Darrell'Issa'(RICA)'I'and$publishers?

5

‣ 'their'content'?'‣ surprise'at'subscripWon'costs'&'publisher'profits‣ amateur'vs'commercial'tensions'

Anarchy'Policy'in'the'UK'I'2012

6

Dame%Janet%Finch:

“The'principle'that'the'results'of'research'that'has'been'publicly%funded'should'be'freely'accessible'in'the'public'domain'is'a'compelling'one,'and'fundamentally%unanswerable.”

Rt%Hon%David%WilleCs%MP:

The'“funding'model'is'surely'going'to'have'to'change'even'beyond'the'welcome'transiWon'to'open'access'and'hybrid'journals'that’s'already'underway.'To%try%to%preserve%the%old%model%is%the%wrong%baCle%to%fight.”

What'is'Open'Access?

Budapest%DeclaraIon,%2002%"free'availability'on'the'public'internet,'permiang'any'users'to'read,'download,'copy,'distribute,'print,'search,'or'link'to'the'full'texts'of'these'arWcles,'crawl'them'for'indexing,'pass'them'as'data'to'socware…"

hdp://www.opensocietyfoundaWons.org/openaccess/

Gold%OA:%Immediate'availability'via'the'journal'(OA'or''hybrid')May'require'an'arWcle'processing'charge'(APC)

Green%OA:%Available'via'a'repository'(insWtuWon'or'subjectIbased)Author's'peerIreviewed'version'(or'preIprint)May'require'a'delay'(embargo'period)

GraIs%OA:%Free'online'access

Libre%OA:%Free'online'access'with'some'addiWonal'usage'rights'(e.g.'reproducWon,'text'mining'—'licenseIdependent)

Open'Access'is:‣ an'inevitable'consequence'of'the'internet‣ good'for'research

faster'exchange'of'ideasfosters'interIdisciplinarityenables'text'miningstronger'sense'of'community'ownership

‣ good'for'the'taxpayerbeder'cost'control'(eventually)access'to'the'research'they'paid'forchanges'dynamic'of'public'engagement

‣ affecWng'&'affected'by'many'aspect'of'academic'life…

Open'Access'is'not:‣ free'(or'the'same'as''fileIsharing')‣ the'end'of'peer'review'or'synonymous'with'low'quality

The'relaWonship'of'academics'with'Open'Access

9

Why'are'we'not'there'yet?

Funder'&'Govt'Policies

‣ Too'meek'(preI2012).'Policy'but'lidle'enforcement

‣ Confusion?'GoldFinch'but'not'GreenFinch?

‣ New,(revised)'RCUK'policy'(April'1st,'2013):‣ Prefers'gold'(and'CCIBY)'but'green'allowed‣ Embargoes'extended'for'5Iyear'transiWon'(6,'12,'24'mo)‣ Block'grant'funding'‣ 5'yr'rollIout'to'include'review'&'flexibility:'a''journey'

‣ Role'of'HEFCE?'(Ben'Johnson)

hdp://blogs.rcuk.ac.uk/2012/09/28/rcukIopenIaccessIpolicyIwhenItoIgoIgreenIandIwhenItoIgoIgold/ 10

11

House'of'Lords'Select'Commidee'Report'(Feb'2013)

hdp://www.parliament.uk/business/commidees/commideesIaIz/lordsIselect/scienceIandItechnologyIcommidee/news/openIaccessIreportIpublished/

12

House'of'Commons'Select'Commidee'Report'(Sept'2013)

hdp://www.parliament.uk/business/commidees/commideesIaIz/commonsIselect/businessIinnovaWonIandIskills/news/onIpublIopenIaccess/

QuesWons'about'hybrid'OA

OpposiWon'of'some'publishers‣worried'about'‘sustainability’'(aka'profits)

13

Others'are'more'forwardIthinking‣OA'journals'work:'e.g.$PLOS,'BMC‣ InnovaWon'I'eLife,'PeerJ,'FronWers‣ See'also'the'Open'Access'Budon'(David'Carroll)‣Market'in'need'of'a'shakeIup

Why'are'we'not'there'yet?

14

The'Bohannon'‘sWng’'(Science,'Oct'2013)

15

Responses'to'the'sWngStuart'Shieber'(Harvard'University)

hdp://blogs.law.harvard.edu/pamphlet/2013/10/15/lessonsIfromItheIfauxIjournalIinvesWgaWon/

Sal'Robinson

hdp://www.mhpbooks.com/

Researchers'are'illIinformed'and'conservaWve

‣too'few'aware'of:‣ how'OA'works‣ subscripWon'costs'&'access'problems'

16

Why'are'we'not'there'yet?

‣confusion'in'universiWes'about'their'public'duWes?‣ obligaWons'to'funders'&'taxpayers

hdp://www.lrb.co.uk/v35/n20/stefanIcollini/soldIout

17

Why'are'we'not'there'yet?

Concerns'of'learned'socieWes

‣loss'of'valuable'income?

hdp://blogs.law.harvard.edu/pamphlet/2013/01/29/whyIopenIaccessIisIbederIforIscholarlyIsocieWes/

Stuart'Shieber

hdp://openIaccess.org.uk/informaWonIandIguidance/guideItoIgoldoa/

Researchers'fear'damage'to'established'models‣variaWon'between'humaniWes'and'sciences'

‣ different'relaWonships'with'their'published'work‣variaWon'between'the'sciences

‣ Physics'arΧiv'vs'bioRΧiv‣suspicious'of'the'web‣addicted'to'impact'factors'

18

Why'are'we'not'there'yet?

Image:'hdp://associate.com/photos/BibleIPicturesII1897IWIAIFoster/pageI0069I1.jpg

occamstypewriter.org/scurry

To'realise'the'vision'of'OA,'we'need'to'replace'the'apparatus'of'the'Impact'factor'

19

"affirms$the$principle$that$it$is$the$intrinsic,merit,of,the,work,$and$not$the$9tle$of$the$journal$in$which$an$author’s$work$is$published,$that$should$be$considered$in$making$funding$decisions."

"ar9cles$in$all$journals$should$be$assessed$on,their,own,merits,rather$than$on$the$basis$of$the$journal$in$which$they$were$published"

March$21,$2013

To'realise'the'vision'of'OA,'we'need'to'replace'the'apparatus'of'the'Impact'factor'

20

"when$assessing$proposals$for$research$funding$RCUK$considers$that$it$is$the$quality,of,the,research$proposed$and$not$where$an$author$has$published…$that$is$of$paramount$importance."

April$8,$2013

To'realise'the'vision'of'OA,'we'need'to'replace'the'apparatus'of'the'Impact'factor'

Vale,'R.'D.'(2012)'Mol$Biol$Cell$23,'3285–3289.

Lawrence,'P.'A.'(2007)'Curr.$Biol.'17,'R583–5.

Samuel'Reich,'E.'(2013)'Nature'502,'291I3.

Print sub/OA online

Online only (no APC)Online only (no APC)

The inexorable rise of Open Access

22-Oct-2012

World: 17% Gold OA

UK: 35% Green OAUK: 5% Gold OA

Remaining'Challenges

23

‣ GeSng%the%message%out%to'academics'‣ Agreement'on'the'principles'of'OA‣ OA'mechanisms'that'work'for'all%fields

‣ APC'payment'mechanisms'that'are'fair%and%visible%to%researchers‣ Remove'support'for'hybrid%OA?

‣ Disavowal'of'Impact'Factors‣ Compliance%enforcement%from'funders'and'insWtuWons‣ Market%innovaIons%(from'new'&'est.'publishers)'—'level'playing'field‣ DuraWon'&'cost'of'transiWon?'(When'will'subs%money'be'released?)‣ InternaIonal%cooperaIon%on'OA'policy'(Niamh'Brennan)

Questions?

24