SPARC releases guide to campus-based open-access funds

[Jennifer McLennan <jennifer@arl.org>]

For immediate release
March 4, 2010

For more information, contact:
Jennifer McLennan
(202) 296-2296 ext. 121
jennifer [at] arl [dot] org

SPARC RELEASES NEW GUIDE TO EXPLORE CAMPUS-BASED OPEN-ACCESS 
FUNDS

WASHINGTON, DC -- SPARC (the Scholarly Publishing and Academic 
Resources Coalition) has released a new guide and supporting Web 
resource exploring campus-based open-access publishing funds. 
Authored by SPARC Consultant Greg Tananbaum, these timely new 
resources survey the current North American landscape of 
open-access funds and explore key emerging questions on how such 
funds are considered and developed on college and university 
campuses.

Open-access funds are resources created to address 
article-processing fees (APCs) that may be associated with 
publishing in an open-access journal. These fees are a source of 
revenue for many open-access publishers (including the Public 
Library of Science, Hindawi, and the Optical Society of America), 
as well as for subscription-based publishers experimenting with 
'open choice' or 'hybrid' options, where individual articles are 
made freely available with the upon payment of an APC.

The new guide, 'Open-access publishing funds: A practical guide 
to design and implementation,' and Web resource contain a wealth 
of background information to inform libraries, authors, 
administrators and interested others on the practical 
considerations surrounding open-
access funds. The site features up-to-date information on:

*  Active open-access funds (at the University of California at 
Berkeley, University of Calgary, and several other institutions);
*  FAQ for authors, administrators, and publishers;
*  Considerations in evaluating the launch of a fund;
*  Key policy decisions;
*  Implementation tools;
*  Resource allocation;
*  Fund promotion and reporting and more.

To ensure that this resource stays current, readers are invited 
to contribute their experiences through the online commenting and 
discussion features that are available.

"Pioneers of open-access fund are surfacing a variety of 
important questions about the role funds may play in the 
economics of scholarly communication as well as how best to 
manage them on campus," said Heather Joseph, SPARC executive 
director. "We hope that by creating an online focus for 
discussion and sharing experiences, more lessons, successes, and 
best practices will begin to emerge."

'Open-access publishing funds: A practical guide to design and 
implementation' and the SPARC open-access funds interactive Web 
resource are online at http://www.arl.org/sparc/openaccess/funds.

For more information, visit the SPARC Web site at 
http://www.arl.org/sparc

##

SPARC
SPARC (Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition), 
with SPARC Europe and SPARC Japan, is an international alliance 
of more than 800 academic and research libraries working to 
create a more open system of scholarly communication. SPARC?s 
advocacy, educational, and publisher partnership programs 
encourage expanded dissemination of research. SPARC is on the Web 
at http://www.arl.org/sparc.

-------------------------------------
Jennifer McLennan
Director of Programs & Operations
SPARC