RE: Open access: a must for Wellcome Trust researchers [response to comments from ALPSP]

["Kiley ,Mr Robert" <r.kiley@wellcome.ac.uk>]

Sally,

The problem with taking a single sentence out of context, as you have
done, is that it can lead to misinterpretation:  all the Trust's policies
and supporting documents should be read in their entirety and not quoted
out of context.  We would stress again, as we have done in all
communications with our researchers, that they should make themselves
fully aware of the policy as a whole before taking any action.  The Grant
Conditions themselves make it abundantly clear that they must be read in
conjunction with the Policies and Positions:  the Grant Conditions are
intended as a high level document; the Policies and Positions underpin the
Grant Conditions with more operational detail.  We keep all our policies
under review and we will update and change our guidance based on the
feedback we receive directly.

Further, the policy does not **only** apply to grants awarded from 1
October 2005 - it will also affect existing grant holders whose grants are
still current on 1 October 2006.  Consequently, we were duty bound to
alert current grant holders that papers in preparation now may well come
under the new policy.  Our communication strategy was to alert everyone
who might be affected, and back this up with the detail on our web site.

In the first week of taking our policy live 55 manuscripts were deposited
via the NIHMS system; 11 of these are now available for free in PMC, in a
format that can be archived and integrated with other online database
resources.

Additionally, from our perspective as a funder, these papers are now
linked to the original grant awarded, enabling a link between the
application process and the outputs - a process which facilitates
evaluation and can greatly improve the research process which, as a
research organisation, has been our motivating force from the outset.

Robert Kiley

Head of Systems Strategy & Acting Librarian
Wellcome Library.
Library Web site: http://library.wellcome.ac.uk

-----Original Message-----
[mailto:owner-liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu]On Behalf Of Sally Morris
(ALPSP)
Sent: 11 October 2005 01:27
To: liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu
Subject: Re: Open access: a must for Wellcome Trust researchers
[response to comments from ALPSP]

I beg to differ

The Wellcome's message to EXISTING grant-holders starts by saying:

"the Trust requires copies of all authors' research papers, supported in
whole or in part by Wellcome Trust funding, to be made freely accessible
on the Internet as soon as possible, and in any event no later that six
(6)  months after the publication."

There is NO MENTION of the fact that this policy, in fact, only applies to
grants awarded from 1 October 2005 and, since it was sent to existing
grant recipients (including many who have papers in press or indeed
published, and have thus signed agreements with publishers) I can well
understand their consternation

I fail to see why Wellcome does not think a clarification is necessary

Sally Morris, Chief Executive
Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers
Email:  sally.morris@alpsp.org