Open access research policy under review

In an effort to increase the accessibility of research, University committees are reviewing a policy which would make University published research available to the general public free of cost.

In August 2013, former Gov. Pat Quinn signed the “Open Access to Research Articles Act,” which aims to maximize the “social and economic benefits of research to the public.” All Illinois public universities were required to create a task force by Jan. 1, 2014, with an aim to discuss the best policy for making its research articles produced by faculty as widely available as possible at no cost.

Each university’s Board of Trustees was responsible for creating its own task force, comprised of faculty members from a variety of fields. The University of Illinois Board of Trustees formed its task force in November 2013. The task force was led by John Wilkin, dean of libraries, and was composed of faculty members from all three campuses in different areas of study.

Joyce Tolliver, Professor and University Senates Conference representative, also served on the task force. Tolliver said the group spent many months discussing what a good policy would encompass, such as academic freedom.

A draft of the policy has been made and is set to be reviewed in March by the Academic Senate’s committees on general university policy and the library. Once the policy is finalized, it may be discussed in the senate before it returns to Lawrence Schook, vice president for research.

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Tolliver said although the University has already had a similar program, known as IDEALS, in place for years, the only other way for the general public to access published work is to pay for it — which can become extremely expensive — or gain access to a reading room at a university library.

“The fact that scholarly articles can be shared online is a total game-changer, because it makes it possible for people who do not have the funds to pay those subscription fees or who do not have access to a world-class library like ours to read for themselves what scholars are writing,” Tolliver said.

Wilkin agreed that while IDEALS provides access to University students, there are still restrictions and that open access removes those barriers.

“I think we can all agree that broader dissemination of our research ensures greater impact, and that impact comes back home to us as students and faculty,” Wilkins said. “We see the influence of our research reaching further and our voice heard by more people.”

Students are not the only people who could benefit from this policy, Wilkins said. He said collaboration across institutions is incredibly important and open access fosters that. Additionally, it keeps important research from being unused because of cost.

“One reason the law was passed was the recognition that licensing costs are increasingly putting up barriers that undermine the benefits of research,” Wilkins said.

Despite the obvious and numerous benefits, Tolliver said there are some difficulties with the concept of the policy. Some already published works have copyright claims that prevent articles from being shared online.

Additionally, if University employees are required to make their published work freely available to the public, some may feel limited to specific journals, which could be perceived as an infringement on academic freedom.

Tolliver said it needs to be clear in the policy, which will apply to all three campuses, that academic freedom is explicitly protected and copyright ownership will remain with authors.

Although there will be costs associated to the policy, Wilkin believes that in the long run, it will be a sustainable and cost-effective way for people to access research.

Connie Sailor, administrative aid for the University Senates Conference, said once the policy is finalized and approved by all three University senates, the conference will forward the approval to Schook. Ultimately, the policy will be presented to the Board of Trustees for approval.

Wilkin said he is optimistic the policy will receive approval; once this happens, he expects the policy to be implemented fairly quickly.

Abigale can be reached at [email protected].