[GOAL] Re: Publisher direct deposit into repositories

[Stevan Harnad]

On 2013-04-03, at 9:10 PM, LIBLICENSE  Kathleen Shearer wrote:

> I am looking for information about agreements with publishers to
> deposit articles directly into institutional repositories.
> 
> I know that BioMed Central is doing this for a number of universities.
> I have also heard that some universities have negotiated direct
> deposit with other publishers, but I don't have any details.
> 
> Have you, or do you know of any universities that have negotiated this?
> Any information you could send me related to direct deposit agreements
> between institutions and publishers would be most appreciated.

Kathleen, I don't have any data on publisher agreements on proxy deposit
into institutional repositories,  but I can tell you it's an extremely bad idea, 
for a number of reasons:

1. The only sure way to achieve 100% open access is to have a rational, 
systematically verifiable system of deposit and monitoring.

2. Instititions are the providers of all research output, whether published in
OA journals or subscription journals.

3. Spontaneous, unmandated OA self-archiving by authors is growing much 
too slowly.

4. The only way to accelerate OA to 100% is for authors' institiutions and 
funders to mandate OA self-archiving.

5. Institutions are the only ones in a position to systematically monitor and 
ensure OA mandate compliance, such that all of their research output is 
self-archived in their institutional repository.

6. If some deposits are institutional and some are institution-external 
(central), and some deposits are done by authors and some by publishers, 
it makes it impossible or extremely complicated to systematically monitor 
and ensure that all research output is deposited.

7. Self-archiving in the institutional repository immediately upon publication 
hence has to be made a mandatory part of the standard research work-flow 
for all institutional researchers (just a few extra keystrokes per paper
upon acceptance for publication). (Even librarian proxy deposit is not a 
good idea.)

8. Instead allowing or encouraging publishers to do the deposit -- either paid OA 
publishers, or subscription publishers after their self-imposed embargoes 
have elapsed -- takes the control of OA provision out of the hands of authors 
and institutions, and leaves it in the hands of publishers.

Hence I suggest it is a much, much more effective and far-sighted strategy for institutions 
to adopt effective, systematic, verifiable institutional OA self-archiving mandates (reinforced 
by funder mandates) than to be drawn into any side-deals with publishers, whether OA 
publishers or subscription publishers. To do so is a Torjan Horse of a Faustian Bargain
(take your pick of metaphors!).

Stevan Harnad

> M. Kathleen Shearer
> Research Associate
> Canadian Association of Research Libraries
> kathleen.shearer at carl-abrc.ca
> (514) 847-9068
> skype: kathleen.shearer2

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman.ecs.soton.ac.uk/pipermail/goal/attachments/20130404/bd7b196d/attachment.html