[GOAL] Re: Statement: Australian Open Access Support Group applauds new ARC open access policy

[Arthur Sale]

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: goal-bounces at eprints.org [mailto:goal-bounces at eprints.org] On Behalf
Of Danny Kingsley
Sent: Monday, 14 January 2013 7:38 AM
To: goal at eprints.org; cairss at googlegroups.com; aoasg at mailman.anu.edu.au
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:danny.kingsley at anu.edu.au> danny.kingsley at anu.edu.au 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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