Re-introducing Open Access
with mike nason, open scholarship & publishing librarian
research booster, january '23
Open access is, broadly speaking, a very straightforward idea...
Access to knowledge is a public good!
But, you know, we live under capitalism. Things are a little more complicated.
Paid in $$
In the world of monographs (books), textbooks, or other publications, some folks even get to make money! For their work! Imagine!
As a musician, this is a very cute idea to me.
Publishers take a cut for their service. Sure! And/or platforms do.
Paid in Prestige
In the world of academic publishing (journals, in particular), the production of research is just part of the job.*
Authors aren't typically paid a portion of profits! Authors want and need to share their work to advance their careers.
Publishers take the whole cut.
Major academic publishers are for-profit businesses.
“Academic publishers reap huge profits as libraries go broke…
5 companies publish more than 50 per cent of research papers, study finds.”
(CBC News, 2015)
Even still, for a long time this really wasn't a huge problem.
Until the "serials crisis"!
I should note here that this is one of the most powerfully boring phrases you may ever see, but it was/remains a big deal.
I spent an irresponsible amount of time trying to get the DALL-E AI to make a fun "not to be confused with cereals crisis" image as a joke and I feel I need to embrace the sunk cost fallacy and share the best result. I'm a little disappointed, if I'm being honest.
A Quick Aside
Not only were prices rising at a startling pace, this period is also characterized by the increasing ubiquity of the modern internet.
Boundless possibilities and technophilic naïveté!
Lots of people believed the internet could revolutionize how we share information (they weren't wrong) and could make knowledge more equitable (uhhh, we're doing our best, I guess).
And so...
In 2002, a heap of passionate scholars met in Budapest and drafted a statement on open access. They called it the Budapest Open Access Initiative.
It's still a thing!
"The public good [the internet] make[s] possible is the world-wide electronic distribution of the peer-reviewed journal literature and completely free and unrestricted access to it by all scientists, scholars, teachers, students, and other curious minds. Removing access barriers to this literature will accelerate research, enrich education, share the learning of the rich with the poor and the poor with the rich, make this literature as useful as it can be, and lay the foundation for uniting humanity in a common intellectual conversation and quest for knowledge."
https://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/read/
"For various reasons, this kind of free and unrestricted online availability, which we will call open access, has so far been limited to small portions of the journal literature. But even in these limited collections, many different initiatives have shown that open access is economically feasible, that it gives readers extraordinary power to find and make use of relevant literature, and that it gives authors and their works vast and measurable new visibility, readership, and impact."
https://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/read/
Twenty-one years later, you're probably aware that everything isn't open access.
But it's not all bad!
Now that you have a bit of a sense about how open access got started as a movement, let's talk about what OA looks like today.
Warm Fuzzies
Open Access
As a realistic movement...
Warm Flawsies
Open Access
As a useful and appealing movement...
More Eyes On Your Research
Open Access
As a disruptor of publishing cultures.
-
oa mandates
- institutional/government
-
oa journals
- be not afraid
-
repositories
- institutional/disciplinary
-
publishing models
- green
- gold
- hybrid
- diamond
The Tri-Agency OA Policy.
#1
Grant recipients are required to ensure that any peer-reviewed journal publications arising from Agency-supported research are freely accessible within 12 months of publication.
#2
Grant recipients can publish in a journal that offers immediate open access or that offers open access on its website
within 12 months.
#3
Grant recipients can deposit their final, peer-reviewed manuscript into an institutional or disciplinary repository that will make the manuscript freely accessible within 12 months of publication.
#4
Find policies:
These kinds of policies are very common all over the world!
Bad faith (or so-called “predatory”) publishers.
Bad-faith publishers often operate large websites full of open access journals with incredibly-vague-yet-weirdly-specific titles like “The International Journal of Studies”.
They make money via “author processing charges”, or APCs.
Some legitimate OA journals do this.
Legitimate paid journals also do this.
Major Publishers Benefit Similarly
“Predatory” is a little misleading ‘cause
To even call bad-faith publishers, “publishers,” is too flattering. Largely, the entire practice of “predatory publishing” is about taking advantage of researchers.
#1
Researchers are under tremendous professional pressure to publish (or perish).
#2
Researchers have a lot on their plate with increasing course loads, their own research, professional development, job precarity, and committee work.
#3
Many/some/enough researchers are not equipped with the technical literacy to determine when they are dealing with a scam.
#4
A lot of publishing culture is folk-wisdom within departments. Many programs fail to properly prepare early-career folks for the realities and processes of publishing.
A unifying theme of bad-faith publications is that they solicit. It is important that you understand that's not how publishing works.
Dear Dr. [Grad Student],
Hope things are good at your end. I read the jots of your research paper and found your work astonishing and would like to invite you to as our reviewer to facilitate our academic relationship. You can apply as a reviewer at https://globaljournals.org/board/apply-for-reviewer/for-computer-science
Additionally, we would like to add you to our research community. This will help you to connect and collaborate with other researchers around the globe in the domain of your research. May I know your research interests and your work domain?
Kindly acknowledge what some primary researches focused in university on your research field? We would like to collaborate on upcoming conferences in your university with you.
Further, you may visit the link below for journal's specification document at [link] which includes all journal metrics. Thank you, and we await your favorable response at the earliest.
Regards,
With Warm Regards,
Dr. Alexander S. Walker
Astt. Editor
Global Journals Organisation
It's a bit of a Jungle out there.
I promise that I am not trying to terrify you.
I am here to arm you.
#1
Many publishers require you to sign over your copyright when you publish, making your research belong to them. This isn’t ideal. Push back.
Your work is your work.
#2
There are a number of resources for determining where you might want to publish. Use them. Talk to colleagues. Scrutinize publishers.
Think about where and how you want to share your research.
Can your intended audience read it? Who will see a paywall?
This has been a lot. I am sorry.
mnason@unb.ca
I have your back!
Questions?