Support Open Access Research Articles

Librarians and Libraries Supporting Open Access Publishing

As new models of scholarly communication emerge, librarians and libraries have responded by developing and supporting new methods of storing and providing access to information and by creating new publishing support services. This article will examine the roles of libraries and librarians in developing and supporting open access publishing initiatives and services in higher education. Canadian university libraries have been key players in the development of these services and have been bolstered by support from librarians working through and within their professional associations on advocacy and advancement initiatives, and by signifi cant funding from the Canadian Foundation for Innovation for the Synergies initiative – a project designed to allow Canadian social science and humanities journals to publish online. The article also refl ects on the experiences of three librarians involved in the open access movement at their libraries, within Canadian library associations, and as creators, managers, and editors in two new open access journals in the field of library and information studies: Evidence-based Library and Information Practice published out of the University of Alberta; and Partnership: the Canadian Journal of Library and Information Practice and Research hosted by the University of Guelph. As active participants in the creation of open access content within their own fi eld, the authors are able to lend their experience to faculty in other disciplines and provide meaningful and responsive library service development. Face aux nouveaux modeles de communication savante, bibliothecaires et bibliotheques ont reagi en developpant et en entretenant de nouvelles methodes de stockage et d’acces a l’information, et en creant de nouveaux services visant a soutenir la publication. Cet article examine les roles qu’ont joues les bibliotheques et les bibliothecaires pour developper et soutenir des initiatives et services en faveur de l’acces libre dans l’education post-secondaire. Les bibliotheques universitaires canadiennes ont joue un role essentiel dans le developpement de ces services. Elles ont ete soutenues en cela par les bibliothecaires travaillant au sein et par l’entremise de leurs associations pour faire avancer et progresser les idees. Elles ont ete egalement aidees par un soutien fi nancier signifi catif provenant de la Fondation canadienne pour l’Innovation pour lancer le projet Synergies. Ce projet vise a placer en ligne les revues savantes en sciences sociales du Canada. L’article refl ete egalement l’experience de trois bibliothecaires impliques dans le mouvement en faveur de l’acces libre au sein de leur bibliotheque et au sein d’associations canadiennes de bibliothecaires. Ces trois bibliothecaires ont egalement cree, gere et edite deux nouvelles revues en acces libre portant sur les sciences de l’information et la bibliotheconomie : Evidence-based Library and Information Practice base a l’universite de l’Alberta, et Partnership: the Canadian Journal of Library and Information Practice and Research publie a l’universite de Guelph. En participant activement a la creation de contenu en acces libre dans leur propre discipline, les auteurs sont en mesure de partager leur experience avec les professeurs d’autres disciplines et ainsi mettre en place des service a la fois pertinents et signifi catifs.

Open Access Publishing: Hypocrisy and Confusion in Geography

Debates about the possibilities and importance of open access publishing in academia are reaching a crucial stage. British universities are implementing “author archiving”, electronically storing their staff’s outputs for online public access. At the same time, an increasing number of academics are calling for an overhaul of journal publishing processes—urging us to sign a petition to the European Commission in support of open access (EC Petition 2007). Journal publishers are fighting a rearguard action in response. This ranges from making some of their content freely available, to creating complicated licence forms allowing authors to only post articles online several months (in some cases years) after publication; the chief concern of publishers is the potentially dramatic loss of revenue (Shepherd 2007). The result for academics is a messy and confusing situation where even fine attention to the small print of such licences offers little clarity. Whether we are correctly abiding by these licences or not, there needs to be a more assertive discussion within academic geography about our outputs. Many geographers have critically engaged with our publishing practices, encouraging academics to write in more accessible styles and in nonacademic locations (Castree 2006; Mitchell 2006; Smith 2000). Condemnation of the negative consequences of the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) on how we publish abounds; as does criticism of the Anglo-American hegemony in our conferences and publishing (Minca 2003). Moreover, the recent campaign to boycott Elsevier publications (including Political Geography, Geoforum, and Applied Geography) due to their support for arms trading has highlighted how “academic practices are increasingly enmeshed with capitalist social relations through their links with, and dependency on, multinational publishing companies” (Chatterton and Featherstone 2006:5). This move to be more critically aware of the commercialisation not just of our institutions, but also of our outputs, is necessary and

Open access and evolving scholarly communication: An overview of library advocacy and commitment, institutional repositories, and publishing in Canada

The open access movement in Canada is very active in many areas. This is not surprising; of the 16 people at the Budapest meeting which was the foundation of the Budapest Open Access Initiative (BOAI), three were Canadians, all global leaders in this arena: Leslie Chan, Jean-Claude Guedon, and Stevan Harnad. The Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) was among the earliest signatories of the BOAI, and quickly initiated a nationwide institutional repository program. The Canadian Library Association (CLA) recently approved an innovative “Position Statement on Open Access for Canadian Libraries,” calling for all libraries to participate in advocacy, educating patrons abut open access resources, and encouraging support for open access, including economic support. The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) has an open access mandate policy, requiring open access to CIHR-funded research within six months. The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) has an Aid to Open Access Journals program. Other funding agencies in Canada either have, or are developing, open access policies and support. This article presents an overview of CLA advocacy and open access in Canada, with a focus on initiatives with a strong library involvement or leadership.

Information professionals in a globalized world: Distance learning/E‐learning for Iraq: Concept and road map

Information professionals in a globalized world: Distance learning/E‐learning for Iraq: Concept and road map

Comunicação científica: o papel da open archives initiative no contexto do acesso livre

Discute a questão do Acesso Livre ao conhecimento científico, abordando, de maneira sucinta, seus impactos na pesquisa. Discorre sobre algumas das principais questões relacionadas ao uso de tecnologias da informação na comunicação científica, com ênfase em questões recentes, como o auto-arquivamento de trabalhos científicos em repositórios (via verde) e os periódicos científicos eletrônicos de Acesso Livre (via dourada). Tais questões são focadas simultaneamente como uma reação dos pesquisadores ao modelo de negócios vigente nas editoras científicas comerciais e uma conscientização do grande aumento de impacto dos documentos disponibilizados em Acesso Livre. Acrescenta a essa discussão informação sobre as políticas institucionais necessárias à implementação plena do Acesso Livre. Trata das principais tecnologias que suportam o Acesso Livre, tais como sistemas de gestão de repositórios e de revistas científicas que obedecem às especificações OAI. Além disso, discute perspectivas futuras que deverão nortear as políticas, a tomada de decisões e as ações por parte das instituições acadêmicas e governamentais que garantam o Acesso Livre, particularmente nos países lusófonos.

The Dramatic Growth of Open Access

The Open Access movement seeks to make scholarly, peer-reviewed journal articles freely available to anyone, anywhere over the World Wide Web. There were some very significant developments in the area of Open Access in 2004, including statements by major fund donors in support of Open Access. There are now so many Open Access scholarly journal articles available, that using the resources and related tools is essential for libraries. Libraries can provide more and faster resources for users by supplementing paid resources with Open Access resources. Library resources, such as software that fixes links, commonly named resolvers, are beginning to incorporate Open Access materials and Web searches for Open Access materials. After exhausting traditional resources, interlibrary loan staff members are beginning to include Google searching in their workflow. This article will discuss what Open Access is, the dramatic growth of Open Access, major collections, resources and tools. The article will explore the implications, issues, and leadership opportunities for resource sharing specialists.

Philips Medical Systems support for open access and use of electrocardiographic data

Philips Medical Systems support for open access and use of electrocardiographic data

Preparative LC−MS Purification: Improved Compound-Specific Method Optimization

One of the remaining challenges in providing effective preparative LC-MS purification is balancing throughput and compound purity. We describe here an approach to optimizing preparative LC-MS methods that provides significantly better chromatographic resolution and, hence, better compound purity than generic preparative LC methods consuming the same amount of time. This approach is easier to implement, is more rugged, and permits significantly greater flexibility than previously reported approaches. The instrument configurations and protocols presented here are specifically tailored for open access support, but the basic approach is equally suitable and effective in high-throughput situations.

Transmission Market Design

Coordinated electricity spot markets support open access to existing transmission grids. Associated financial transmission rights provide a key ingredient for long-term contracting and property rights for grid expansion. Design of a mixed system of merchant and regulated transmission investment presents a challenge for regulators and market participants. With the right choice, merchant transmission investment could play a significant but not exclusive role in efficient transmission expansion. With the wrong choice, the unintended consequences could undermine the whole foundation of electricity market restructuring.

Wellcome support for open access

Wellcome support for open access

Supporting Open Access to Scientific Information

Supporting Open Access to Scientific Information

Librarians and Libraries Supporting Open Access Publishing

As new models of scholarly communication emerge, librarians and libraries have responded by developing and supporting new methods of storing and providing access to information and by creating new publishing support services. This article will examine the roles of libraries and librarians in developing and supporting open access publishing initiatives and services in higher education. Canadian university libraries have been key players in the development of these services and have been bolstered by support from librarians working through and within their professional associations on advocacy and advancement initiatives, and by significant funding from the Canadian Foundation for Innovation for the Synergies initiative – a project designed to allow Canadian social science and humanities journals to publish online.
 The article also reflects on the experiences of three librarians involved in the open access movement at their libraries, within Canadian library associations, and as creators, managers, and editors in two new open access journals in the field of library and information studies: Evidence-based Library and Information Practice published out of the University of Alberta; and Partnership: the Canadian Journal of Library and Information Practice and Research hosted by the University of Guelph. As active participants in the creation of open access content within their own field, the authors are able to lend their experience to faculty in other disciplines and provide meaningful and responsive library service development.