Open Access Publishing

In 2002 a group of scholars representing many points of view, academic disciplines and nations met in Budapest to explore ways to accelerate progress in the international effort to make research articles in all academic fields freely available on the Internet.  The result was the Budapest Open Access Initiative that defined the purpose and goals of Open Access (OA):

…Removing access barriers to this literature will accelerate research, enrich education, share the learning of the rich with the poor and the poor with the rich, make this literature as useful as it can be, and lay the foundation for uniting humanity in a common intellectual conversation and quest for knowledge.

Thousands of individuals and organizations representing researchers, universities, laboratories, libraries, foundations, journals, publishers, and learned societies have endorsed the Initiative, and many university faculty have adopted Open Access policies. On April 13, 2015 the  Faculty Senate voted to adopt the  Open Access Policy.  This site includes the OA policy with an analysis of the specific language used; a FAQ; links to more information about OA; and a feedback form to facilitate dialog about open access and the  Open Access Policy.

Actions:

• The  Open Access Policy (SD14-28) was brought to the  Senate for discussion and vote on Monday, April 13, 2015.  The Open Access Policy was adopted by a voice vote.
• The Senate Library Subcommittee submitted the Open Access Policy resolution to the University Resources Policy Committee on February 23, 2015.  The resolution was passed unanimously and will be sent to the full Senate for a vote.
• The Senate Library Subcommittee sponsored a panel discussion and forum on the proposed OA policy on November 24, 2014.

Open Access is the free, immediate online availability of scholarship, coupled with the rights to reuse these articles fully in the digital environment. Some benefits include:

• Authors retain copyright of their works
• Immediately share research results with the world
• Accelerate scientific discovery
• More visibility and discoverability
• Higher citation counts

Open Access supports each of the basic mission areas of the land-grant mission of Purdue University: Learning, Discovery, and Engagement:

• Learning: Open scholarship is available to all, and more likely to be used by educators. If teachers cannot access the works, they cannot teach those works.
• Discovery: Open scholarship is immediately available--without embargoes and reader fees, allowing more rapid scientific discovery and innovation.
• Engagement: Open scholarship is available to anyone, anywhere, free of reading charges. This allows greater opportunity for our partners to engage the results of our research, whether they be industry, government, military, non-profit, or commercial partners.