Category Archives: OA Mandates

Free Public Screening of Film “Paywall: the Business of Scholarship” – Open Access Week 2018

Join us at the UVic Libraries Digital Scholarship Commons for a public screening of the documentary, “Paywall”. Everyone is welcome. There will be popcorn provided!

A public screening of the movie will be held on:

Date: Wednesday, October 24, 2018

Time: 2-4:30pm.

Panel discussion to follow the movie until 4:30pm Panelists include:

  • Dr. Frank van Veggel, Chemistry
  • Dr. Chris Eagle, Math. & Stats.
  • Lisa Petrachenko, Associate University Librarian, Research & Collections
  • Maxwell Nicholson, Senior Economics Lab Instructor & Undergraduate student
  • Alyssa Arbuckle, Ph.D Candidate & Associate Director, ETCL

Where: UVic Libraries, Digital Scholarly Commons

Please register at https://paywall.eventbrite.ca

paywall movie poster

About the filmPaywall: The Business of Scholarship is a documentary which:

  • focuses on the need for open access to research and science
  • questions the rationale behind the $25.2 billion a year that flows into for-profit academic publishers
  • examines the 35-40% profit margin associated with the top academic publisher Elsevier, and
  • looks at how that profit margin is often greater than some of the most profitable tech companies like Apple, Facebook and Google.

Produced and directed by Jason Schmitt, Clarkson University, NY

The film is also available to stream for free here: https://paywallthemovie.com/

 

 

International Development Research Centre Adopts Open Access

Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), a crown corporation that supports research in developing countries, has brought in an open access policy. In an article written on Biomed Central‘s blog, Naser Faruqui, the IDRC’s Director of Technology and Innovation, discusses the decision:

“We know that OA articles tend to be more widely-read than subscription-based articles and that developing-country researchers rely more on OA journals than do those from developed countries. Most scholarly journals, whether OA or subscription, are peer reviewed and recent research shows that OA journals are approaching the same scientific impact and quality as subscription journals, particularly for those funded by article processing charges.

While the case for OA to research as a public good is relevant to all research funders, it is of particular importance to IDRC and southern researchers. This is because OA is not just a question of accountability, it is critical to IDRC's vision of improving people's lives. Research cannot lead to development if knowledge is not freely available to all who might use it, and build on it, to change people's lives. And we know that southern researchers do not have the same level of access to paid journal subscriptions as do their northern counterparts.”

Read the full article here.

Information session on the Tri-Agency Open Access Policy on Publications

The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) are hosting an online session about their Open Access Policy.

A French session will be held on Monday, June 22 from 1pm-2pm (PST).

An English session will be held on Friday, June 26 from 3-4pm (PST).

The Tri-Council has provided the following information about how to connect to the session:

  • Test your connection and get a quick overview
  • For better sound quality, you can also connect by teleconference

    • Local Dial-in: 613-960-7513
    • Toll free Dial-in: 1-877-413-4788
    • Enter the Conference ID: 5248493

The University also will be setting up an on-campus location. Details can be found here.

For more information you can contact:

Or you can contact the scholarly communications librarian Inba Kehoe (ikehoe@uvic.ca).

Tri-Agency Open Access Policy on Publications – UVic Libraries Support

March 17, 2015

The Tri-Agencies 9NSERC, SSHRC and CIHR) recently launched their Open Access Policy on Publications. The objective of the policy is to improve access access to the results of agency funded research and to increase the dissemination and exchange of research results.

The University of Victoria Libraries is interested in supporting researchers’ compliance with the policy. The “compliance guide” outlines the different ways in which we are able to assist.

Tri-Agency Open Access Policy on Publications

February 27, 2015 | Minister Holder | News Release

Honourable Ed Holder, Minister of State (Science and Technology) announced (February 27, 2015) that “Canadians will have free online access to research funded by NSERC, SSHRC and CIHR.”

“Our government's updated Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy demonstrates how we have made the record investments necessary to push the boundaries of knowledge, create jobs and prosperity and improve the quality of life of Canadians. Building on that record, today's forward-looking announcement will provide Canadians with free, online access to federally funded research; providing researchers, entrepreneurs, and the wider Canadian public with an increased opportunity to build upon this research in innovative ways that can create social or economic benefits for Canadians."

For further details on the news release: http://www.science.gc.ca/default.asp?lang=En&n=415B5097-1

Gates Foundation announces world’s strongest policy on open access research

“The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has announced the world's strongest policy in support of open research and open data. If strictly enforced, it would prevent Gates-funded researchers from publishing in well-known journals such as Nature and Science.”

Read more in the linked blog post.  A two year grace period, until 2017, is available to researchers.

– Effective on all new agreements as of Jan. 1, 2015
– Publishers permitted a 12 month embargo; but no longer allowed after January 1, 2017
– Articles published under a CC-BY license
– Foundation will pay the necessary fees
– Data underlying published research results will be accessible and open

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Open Access Policy: http://www.gatesfoundation.org/how-we-work/general-information/open-access-policy

Lecture: John Willinsky, Open Access to Research and Scholarship

Title: What to Expect from the Coming Age of Open Access to Research and Scholarship

When: March 18 from 10:00–‐11:30 a.m.

Where: Room 210, Mearns Centre for Learning/McPherson Library

  • Coffee and refreshments will be served before the talk
  • The talk will be followed by questions and discussion

This talk will review the current state of open access initiatives in Canada and abroad, which in many ways signals a tipping point has been reached. It will examine the implications for scholarly publishing models, academic freedom, and research funding, as well as public impact and support. It will attempt to address where all this openness might be leading –‐–‐ with Open Access, Open Data, MOOCs –‐–‐ for the future of higher education, and what the risks and challenges are, as well as the opportunities, of this new age.

About the Speaker:
John Willinsky is Khosla Family Professor of Education at Stanford University and Professor (Part-‐Time) of Publishing Studies at Simon Fraser University, where he directs the Public Knowledge Project, which conducts research and develops scholarly publishing software intended to extend the reach and effectiveness of scholarly communication. His books include the Empire of Words: The Reign of the OED (Princeton, 1994); Learning to Divide the World: Education at Empire's End (Minnesota, 1998); Technologies of Knowing (Beacon 2000); and The Access Principle: The Case for Open Access to Research and Scholarship (MIT Press, 2006).

Capitalizing on Big Data – Tri-Agency Consultation

Canada's federal research granting agencies-the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), as well as the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), and in collaboration with Genome Canada-have joined forces to help address digital infrastructure challenges through the consultation document Toward a Policy Framework for Advancing Digital Scholarship in Canada.