On Oct. 19, the Urbana-Champaign Senate approved a university policy on open access to research articles. This policy grants the university a nonexclusive, irrevocable, worldwide license to exercise all rights under copyright to the scholarly articles produced by faculty members.
In the policy, the faculty observed that Open Access, by providing the widest possible dissemination for research, enhances benefits to the state, region and world while also raising the visibility and profile of the researchers at the university. Under the policy, researchers will retain copyright to their work. Work published before adoption of the policy is exempt from it. Further waiver provisions are available for specific articles upon request.
“We in the library are eager to help the faculty implement this ambitious policy,” said Aaron McCollough, the head of scholarly communications and publishing within the library’s Office of Research. “Many details remain to be clarified and refined, but we are, as ever, proud to be faculty partners, and I’m confident that the senate’s decision will help position the university to increase the impact of its research outputs in ways that will be beneficial for it and the world.”
With this important new policy, the U. of I. joins other premier research institutions, including Harvard University, Stanford University and the University of California, whose policy serves as a model for the Illinois policy, in affirming the importance of access to high-quality research without barriers to access and use. The policy is based on recommendations from the University Senates Conference to the senates for the Chicago, Springfield and Urbana-Champaign campuses. Further implementation plans and informational campaigns will be forthcoming, as recommended by the USC.
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