Tag: open access

UMass comments on the open textbooks pilot program

UMass has submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Education on the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education – Open Textbooks Pilot Program. The comment is available at UMass’ institutional repository, ScholarWorks….Continue Reading UMass comments on the open textbooks pilot program

UMass Libraries comments to NSF on open access

The UMass Libraries have submitted comments to the NSF for its 2017-2018 Strategic Plan update.  (Further reading: Summary of current Strategic Plan, and full text of current Strategic Plan, published in 2014.) Re: Comments on Strategic Plan, 2017-18 Update Dear National Science Foundation, Thank you for providing this opportunity to comment on the 2017-18 update…Continue Reading UMass Libraries comments to NSF on open access

Supporting Open Ed at the Dept. of Ed.

The Scholarly Communication Dept. submitted comments to the US Department of Education today, on a proposal to require open licensing of grant-funded work. Our comments are available online at UMass-20151203-CommentsDeptEd-OpenLicensing .  The proposal is “Open Licensing Requirement for Direct Grant Programs”, 80 FR  67672 (published Nov. 3, 2015)….Continue Reading Supporting Open Ed at the Dept. of Ed.

Federal Agency Open Access Mandates

Some resources for campus folks on the ongoing roll-out of US government agency open access policies: Crowd-sourced librarian spreadsheet at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1PYOhBh6bglh6BkQFlpvNLOwlpzvQyguWAG8AkQMtU0s/edit#gid=0 ARL’s review and links: http://www.arl.org/focus-areas/public-access-policies/federally-funded-research/2696-white-house-directive-on-public-access-to-federally-funded-research-and-data#.VQwHkEs1TQR Columbia University list of brief descriptions: http://scholcomm.columbia.edu/open-access/public-access-mandates-for-federally-funded-research/…Continue Reading Federal Agency Open Access Mandates

LibrePlanet : When Open Is Not Enough: Educators & Academia Grapple with the Need for Libre

Nicole Allen (@txtbks) and I will be speaking at a panel at LibrePlanet in Cambridge, MA, this weekend: New research techniques like data mining have highlighted the shortcomings in “free” (as in beer) licensing of academic research, and the benefits of “libre” licensing that permits true scholarly engagement with data and scholarship. These challenges apply equally…Continue Reading LibrePlanet : When Open Is Not Enough: Educators & Academia Grapple with the Need for Libre

open access – federal policies

The federal “open access” policy rollouts continue. The Department of Defense put their proposal out a couple of days ago; they will develop their own system (a la PubMed): DoD’s repository, the Defense Technical Information Center or DTIC will create and maintain a system for the long-term preservation and access to the DoD funded peer-reviewed…Continue Reading open access – federal policies

RIP Aaron Swartz, 1986-2013 – Open Access Activist

R.I.P. Aaron Swartz, 1986-2013 Aaron Swartz, an open access activist, committed suicide on Friday, January 10, 2013. He was facing a 13-count indictment from the US Dept. of Justice for breaking into JStor, an academic articles database, although JStor had dropped all charges. Academics worldwide have begun releasing their papers as a tribute, posting the…Continue Reading RIP Aaron Swartz, 1986-2013 – Open Access Activist