Danny
I believe this AOASG statement contains an error. It states that the ARC policy applies to all research outputs of an ARC project, including books. While this can be inferred from the text, it is an extraordinary claim which will be ineffective and cannot have been intended by the ARC. Books do not have "less developed mechanisms for open access copyright clearance than journal articles". They have better developed mechanisms for copyright transfer, and greater justification for closed access. There is no simple parallel between scholarly book publishing and scholarly journal publishing. The industries are very different, and convergence is slow in coming though we may be starting on that path. If the ARC policy extends to books, and according to the AOASG statement also to ibooks and ebooks, and to a lesser extent but still importantly book contributions (chapters), then it is easy to predict: 1. Very few books will be published as the outcomes of a research project. Book publishers incur real costs (editorial, printing, stock and distribution), especially research or review books, and require closed access to recover costs over much longer timeframes than articles. They will simply refuse to publish books that are to be made open access, unless heavily subsidized. 2. Very few ibooks will be published as outcomes of a research project. Although the iTunes policy is that free ibooks (ie open access) are accepted, most people wanting to publish a research output as an ibook (.iba format for iPad) will want to recover some of their development cost. This will be less significant in the less interactive .pub format. One has to doubt whether the ARC intends such undesirable consequences, and if it has thought this through. I just mention newspaper articles, video recordings, music scores, film and play scripts, photographs, architectural designs, computer programs, patents, and silicon chip designs, without going into detail. The statement that "The AOASG particularly commends the ARC for requiring publications to be made available through institutional repositories" is also incorrect, or rather overstated. The ARC policy makes it clear that deposit in a repository is not necessary, if the research output is already available elsewhere on the Internet in an open access form (for example in a subject repository, on a website, in iTunes, in an open access journal, or as an OA article in a hybrid journal). The policy does not mandate open access journals and similar routes (good), but it does not inhibit their natural growth either (also good). It sets institutional repositories as the OA mechanism of ultimate resort, and as a compulsory location for a metadata record and a pointer to an OA full-text. One could improve on the ARC policy, of course, in order to improve global discoverability and shorten the excessive embargo delay. The guidelines that will back up the policy will be especially valuable, as these will be more influential on grant recipients than reading between the lines. Just imagine the effect if the policy had stated: "the ARC requires that any article publications arising from an ARC supported research project must be open access and globally discoverable within a six (6) month period from the date of publication. Discoverability of the full-text of the publication through Google Scholar is regarded as proof of meeting this requirement." Arthur Sale University of Tasmania From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Danny Kingsley Sent: Monday, 14 January 2013 7:38 AM To: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected] Subject: [GOAL] Statement: Australian Open Access Support Group applauds new ARC open access policy STATEMENT Australian Open Access Support Group applauds new ARC open access policy The Australian Open Access Support Group (AOASG) applauds the Australian Research Council (ARC) in their implementation of a new open access policy. The ARC posted their open access policy on their website on Monday 7 January. The ARC Open Access Policy <http://www.arc.gov.au/applicants/open_access.htm> http://www.arc.gov.au/applicants/open_access.htm states: the ARC requires that any publications arising from an ARC supported research project must be deposited into an open access institutional repository within a twelve (12) month period from the date of publication. The AOASG particularly commends the ARC for requiring publications to be made available through institutional repositories. This method of making work open access uses the substantial institutional repository network in place across Australian institutions. It also avoids the potentially costly result of a mandate that requires publication in open access journals through the payment of article processing charges. This policy differs from the "NHMRC revised policy on the dissemination of research findings" <http://www.nhmrc.gov.au/grants/policy/dissemination-research-findings> http://www.nhmrc.gov.au/grants/policy/dissemination-research-findings (introduced on 1 July 2012) in two important ways. 1. Unlike the NHMRC policy which only relates to journal articles resulting from funded research, the ARC policy will apply to all publication outputs resulting from funded research. This will include books and book chapters which currently have less developed mechanisms for open access copyright clearance than journal articles. 2. The NHMRC policy took effect from 1 July 2012, and all journal articles from any funded research (regardless of the grant under which it was funded) published after that date are required to be submitted within 12 months of publication to an institutional repository. The ARC policy is not retrospective, and relates specifically to publications resulting from the Funding Rules and Agreements released after 1 January 2013. This means there will be a period of some time between the funding allocation and publication of the work. This longer implementation period presents an opportunity to address some of the issues facing researchers who publish in outlets other than journal articles. The AOASG is a consortium of six Australian universities which supports Australian institutions and researchers by providing information about, and support for, the development and implementation of open access policies. The particular issues facing the humanities and social sciences in the open access debate will be an early focus for the Group. Still in early implementation phase, the AOASG will have a web presence available shortly. Dated: 14 January 2013 Further information: Dr Danny Kingsley, Executive Officer AOASG e: <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected] p: 02 6125 6839 Australian National University, Charles Sturt University, Macquarie University, Newcastle University, Queensland University of Technology and Victoria University
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