Open Access to Scientific Documentation Institutional electronic repositories : a mandate for all researchers Bernard RENTIER Rector, ULg Chairman, Rectors' Conference, Belgium Valencia, November 15, 2007

Make optimal use of The Web Face the new paradigm of scientific publication Face the resistance to change in professional specialties (as for all technological revolutions) Make the best possible use of the Web technology without lowering the quality control standards (peer review) Enjoy a universal lectorship Complete the traditional written text and still images by colours, animations and films. Archive and exchange electronically

Face the new paradigm of scientific publication

Face the resistance to change in professional specialties (as for all technological revolutions)

Make the best possible use of the Web technology without lowering the quality control standards (peer review)

Enjoy a universal lectorship

Complete the traditional written text and still images by colours, animations and films.

Archive and exchange electronically

Make optimal use of The Web Universities want to ensure that the research they support is given the greatest possible impact Handle scientific communication (publication and/or self-archiving) in an alternative way more widely and more democratically more rapidly and more efficiently

Universities want to ensure that the research they support is given the greatest possible impact

Handle scientific communication (publication and/or self-archiving) in an alternative way

more widely and more democratically

more rapidly and more efficiently

One serious problem: dissemination has never been maximally effective No university or research institution library has ever been able to afford all the journals and books its faculty and students need Exacerbated by some major publishers' "profit above all" policies

No university or research institution library has ever been able to afford all the journals and books its faculty and students need

Exacerbated by some major publishers' "profit above all" policies

Price evolution of periodicals Taking prices of 1993 as a reference (100 %)

We can disseminate better: Open Access (OA) Greater visibility for our institutions’ outputs Greater impact for our institutions’ outputs Increased opportunities for collaboration Who pays ? Pay to publish (covering the costs of peer reviewing and a number of collateral tasks) University (& Research Centres) repositories It means: scientists are taking over the whole publication process again

Greater visibility for our institutions’ outputs

Greater impact for our institutions’ outputs

Increased opportunities for collaboration

Who pays ?

Pay to publish (covering the costs of peer reviewing and a number of collateral tasks)

University (& Research Centres) repositories

It means: scientists are taking over the whole publication process again

Who is moving towards OA? Major research funders now require Open Access (OA) US NIH 's Public Access Policy (2005) Wellcome Trust 's Position Statement in Support of Open and Unrestricted Access to Published Research (2005) etc The trend is now WORLDWIDE

Major research funders now require Open Access (OA)

US NIH 's Public Access Policy (2005)

Wellcome Trust 's Position Statement in Support of Open and Unrestricted Access to Published Research (2005)

etc

The trend is now WORLDWIDE

Open Access What needs to be done ? To convey a strong signal to university members to generate a large movement To reach a consensus among universities, research funding organisations and politicians Driver Project, European petition, OA initiatives everywhere, e.g. Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO): http://www.scielo.br/ Other actions…

To convey a strong signal to university members to generate a large movement

To reach a consensus among universities, research funding organisations and politicians

Driver Project,

European petition,

OA initiatives everywhere,

e.g. Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO): http://www.scielo.br/

Other actions…

Open Access What needs to be done ? To keep reminding scientists about the main OA publishing channels To support initiatives to create new OA journals To support initiatives to bring existing journals to OA To promote institutional or thematic OA repositories and decide on a mandatory depot policy

To keep reminding scientists about the main OA publishing channels

To support initiatives to create new OA journals

To support initiatives to bring existing journals to OA

To promote institutional or thematic OA repositories and decide on a mandatory depot policy

Open Access What needs to be done ? To support librarians' actions regarding OA develop tools generate institutional repositories communicate to scientists and decision makers develop new initiatives , e.g.: BICTEL/e PEPS (PoPuPs at ULg)

To support librarians' actions regarding OA

develop tools

generate institutional repositories

communicate to scientists and decision makers

develop new initiatives , e.g.:

BICTEL/e

PEPS (PoPuPs at ULg)

Open Access Additional ethical reasons for OA To aid the access to Science in developing countries (where some universities have no journal subscriptions at all) Most research is paid for by taxpayers , who have a right to access the results of the work they have funded ( especially professionals, journalists, politicians, civil servants, hobbyists, activists) Even those who do not read scientific literature may wish that their taxpayer’s money leads to research results that are readily available to specialists

To aid the access to Science in developing countries (where some universities have no journal subscriptions at all)

Most research is paid for by taxpayers , who have a right to access the results of the work they have funded ( especially professionals, journalists, politicians, civil servants, hobbyists, activists)

Even those who do not read scientific literature may wish that their taxpayer’s money leads to research results that are readily available to specialists

Open Access Is there a risk to engage on such a path ? FAQs: « Will publishing in OA ruin my chances to value my research ? » NO. Publishing is publishing, i.e. informing the public. Making the OA choice is irrelevant. Preserving chances to value research comes upstream of any means of publication. « Will publishing in OA make me and my University loose our authorship wrights ? » NO. It is exactly the reverse. Authorship wrights belong to you unless you give them away, which is what you do when you publish with a regular editor. In OA, you don't have to.

« Will publishing in OA ruin my chances to value my research ? »

NO. Publishing is publishing, i.e. informing the public.

Making the OA choice is irrelevant.

Preserving chances to value research comes upstream of any means of publication.

« Will publishing in OA make me and my University loose our authorship wrights ? »

NO. It is exactly the reverse.

Authorship wrights belong to you unless you give them away, which is what you do when you publish with a regular editor. In OA, you don't have to.

Open Access Is there a risk to engage on such a path ? FAQs: « Will self archiving in OA make me and my University loose our authorship wrights ? » NO. On the "green" road to OA , authors make their own articles freely accessible online immediately upon publication as postprints or even before, as preprints, by depositing them in an OAI-compliant institutional or central repository.

« Will self archiving in OA make me and my University loose our authorship wrights ? »

NO. On the "green" road to OA , authors make their own articles freely accessible online

immediately upon publication as postprints

or even before, as preprints,

by depositing them in an OAI-compliant institutional or central repository.

Open Access Is there a risk to engage on such a path ? FAQs: « Will publishing in OA make me loose my chances to hit a high impact factor ? » NO. OA publications are already scoring high in terms of citation factor (the real measurement of YOUR impact) which is easy to measure They will score higher and higher with time, as access by others to your publications in immensely facilitated

« Will publishing in OA make me loose my chances to hit a high impact factor ? »

NO. OA publications are already scoring high in terms of citation factor (the real measurement of YOUR impact) which is easy to measure

They will score higher and higher with time, as access by others to your publications in immensely facilitated

Open Access Is there a risk to engage on such a path ? FAQs: « Who decides upon the OA option ? » Universities, libraries and funding agencies have their own reasons to promote OA but only authors can make it happen. Authors decide whether to submit their work to OA journals Authors decide whether to deposit it in open-access repositories Authors decide whether to transfer copyright. Institutions can influence author decisions, especially universities and funding agencies through OA supportive policies For authors, it is critical to understand the benefits of OA , the way it increases citation impact, and the compatibility of OA archiving with publishing in non-OA journals

« Who decides upon the OA option ? »

Universities, libraries and funding agencies have their own reasons to promote OA but only authors can make it happen.

Authors decide whether to submit their work to OA journals

Authors decide whether to deposit it in open-access repositories

Authors decide whether to transfer copyright.

Institutions can influence author decisions, especially universities and funding agencies through OA supportive policies

For authors, it is critical to understand the benefits of OA , the way it increases citation impact, and the compatibility of OA archiving with publishing in non-OA journals

Paths to OA The Golden Path : all scientific literature is in full OA … a dream… The Green Path : all scientific literature is accessible on institutional repositories, references on search engines and available as electronic reprints on request

The Golden Path : all scientific literature is in full OA

… a dream…

The Green Path : all scientific literature is accessible on institutional repositories, references on search engines and available as electronic reprints on request

We need a full repository If we want to be able to collect a complete research record If we want to be able to measure that collection If we want to be able to apply assessment tools

If we want to be able to collect a complete research record

If we want to be able to measure that collection

If we want to be able to apply assessment tools

Open Access For all these reasons, we want to follow up on the movement created by the Berlin Declaration and the European Petition and launch an action plan to keep the pressure high : EurOpenScholar

EurOpenScholar The Liège Declaration AIMS : open researchers' eyes to the new ways of spreading knowledge to the new ways of assessing research progress and performance in the OA era This will contribute to the advancement of research in Europe and to the promotion of European research and European researchers. sensitise research managers, funding agencies, national and local research policy-makers, the R&D industry, the media and the general public to OA and its advantages facilitate synergies and technology transfer provide an effective channel for the communication of real science to the public, either directly or through the media.

AIMS :

open researchers' eyes

to the new ways of spreading knowledge

to the new ways of assessing research progress and performance in the OA era

This will contribute to the advancement of research in Europe and to the promotion of European research and European researchers.

sensitise research managers, funding agencies, national and local research policy-makers, the R&D industry, the media and the general public to OA and its advantages

facilitate synergies and technology transfer

provide an effective channel for the communication of real science to the public, either directly or through the media.

EurOpenScholar The Liège Declaration EOS will : inform European university communities and research centers about opportunities available to researchers today for providing OA, to establish an institutional repository (in Liege, "La Digithèque" ), allowing publications to be deposited and, wherever possible, made openly accessible to all. be a showcase and a tool for the promotion of OA in Europe be a consortium of European universities resolved to move forward on OA and to try to convince the largest possible number of researchers, their institutions and their European Funding Agencies to engage now in what will undoubtedly be the mode of communication of tomorrow, facilitate and accelerate as much as possible the transition to the OA era.

EOS will :

inform European university communities and research centers about opportunities available to researchers today

for providing OA,

to establish an institutional repository (in Liege, "La Digithèque" ), allowing publications to be deposited and, wherever possible, made openly accessible to all.

be a showcase and a tool for the promotion of OA in Europe

be a consortium of European universities resolved to move forward on OA and to try to convince the largest possible number of researchers, their institutions and their European Funding Agencies to engage now in what will undoubtedly be the mode of communication of tomorrow,

facilitate and accelerate as much as possible the transition to the OA era.

EurOpenScholar The Liège Declaration The EOS website, hosted by the ULg, will provide: a practical resource with helpful documents for universities and research centres on how to develop an OA policy, news on developments with EOS (+ news by e-mail), news at the European level, on both political and research developments, feedback from researchers on their expectations on the path to OA, feedback from researchers on whether they intend to take action in their institution concerning OA, an information-gathering service concerning OA institutional repositories and OA journals, tools to measure many aspects of research outputs if they are collected in an institutional repository and if they are openly available for analysis. a discussion forum on OA and the methods emerging in the field of scientometrics (research performance and impact measurement, ranking and analysis).

The EOS website, hosted by the ULg, will provide:

a practical resource with helpful documents for universities and research centres on how to develop an OA policy,

news on developments with EOS (+ news by e-mail),

news at the European level, on both political and research developments,

feedback from researchers on their expectations on the path to OA,

feedback from researchers on whether they intend to take action in their institution concerning OA,

an information-gathering service concerning OA institutional repositories and OA journals,

tools to measure many aspects of research outputs if they are collected in an institutional repository and if they are openly available for analysis.

a discussion forum on OA and the methods emerging in the field of scientometrics (research performance and impact measurement, ranking and analysis).

Thank you [email_address]