Leo Waaijers in D-Lib on Green OA Self-Archiving

A new (2009) dialogue on Green OA, with passerby's comments appended. (Cf. earlier [2001] dialogue's OA version, here).

Dialog on the Green road to Open Access
[Letter to the editor, D-Lib 15 (11/12) November 2009].
As imagined by Leo Waaijers, Open Access consultant, October 2009 -- Author A following the Green road to OA encounters "roadworker" L

A: Hello, L. This morning my publisher has let me know that my manuscript has been accepted for publication in his journal.
-- L: Congratulations, A.
A: Now he wants me to assign my copyrights to him first.
-- L: That's quite classical.
A: But my funder has mandated that I deposit my manuscript in an institutional repository from where it will be circulated openly over the internet after half a year. I am not sure if my publisher will approve this.
-- L: You may be able to find out about that on a web site called RoMeo. For about 10.000 journals RoMeo gives an overview of what publishers will allow you to do.
A: But what if it turns out that my publisher seems less permissive or my journal is not on the list?
-- L: Maybe your funder has included an opt-out clause for this situation. Most of the so-called mandates do have such a clause.

Mandates may be from funders (42) or from authors’ own institutions, faculties or departments (64).

No need to opt out. And no need to wait for open circulation in a half year either. Deposit immediately upon acceptance for publication. Make deposit Open Access (OA) immediately if the publisher endorses it (63%, which includes most of the top journals in most fields). Otherwise, if you wish, make it Closed Access (37%) and rely on the repository’s “email eprint request” button to provide Almost-OA during any OA embargo.

The “opt-out” clauses in self-archiving mandates pertain to whether you must successfully persuade the journal to accept the “author addendum” that formalizes your right to make your deposit OA immediate: It's worth trying to adopt this addendum, but not essential; hence you may opt out if you fail to persuade the publisher, or do not wish to. But you deposit immediately anyway.

A: The mandate of my funder seems quite rigorous.
-- L: In that case, don't assign your copyrights and write a letter to your publisher instead.
A: A letter?
-- L: It's not so difficult. The European Commission has drafted such letters in all European languages on their Open Access web site.
A: What if my publisher denies my request?
-- L: Then you have to look for another publisher.

Not true, and not necessary. See above.

A: Oh my God!
-- L: Well, I have never heard of a publisher refusing.
A: Thank goodness. And then?
-- L: Sign the copyright transfer and deposit your article.
A: That's it?
-- L: Yes, that's it. But don't forget to mention the half-year embargo period.

Nothing to mention about embargoes. If the copyright agreement imposes one, and the author wishes to honor it, deposit as Closed Access rather than OA (and rely on the Almost-OA Button during the embargo) but in any case deposit immediately, not after an embargo.

A: OK. Thanks.
-- L: My pleasure.
A walks on but returns after a few steps.
A: By the way, L. How can people find my publication during the embargo period?
-- L: Its metadata will be circulated over the internet.
A: What happens if someone wants to read it during this period?
-- L: She may request that you send her a copy.
A: So, that may generate extra readers for my publication?
-- L: Surely.
A: And extra citations?
-- L: Yes, could be.
A: And extra prestige?
-- L: Well, it depends.
A: What do you mean?
-- L: Prestige comes from citation indexes like Web of Science or Scopus. Make sure that all citations of your publication culminate there.

This is a nonsequitur: Citations are citations. If they are made by authors who publish in journals that are indexed by Web of Science or Scopus, then the citations will be indexed by Web of Science and Scopus. The author of the cited article has no way to “make sure” that authors who cite that article publish in journals that are indexed by Web of Science or Scopus. The author had no such power in the pre-OA era, and continues to have no such power in the OA era. (However, in the online and OA era Web of Science and Scopus and Scirus and Google Scholar and Citeseerx and Citebase are indexing more and more journals, hence more and more citations, because it is becoming so much easier and cheaper for them to do so.)

A: How?
-- L: Make sure that the official title, the journal issue and page numbers of the published version of your article are tagged to the manuscript that is in the repository. Then your repository could facilitate things so that these data are used for references in articles by others. You might check to see if they have a policy on that.

The full bibliographic citation (author, title, date, journal, etc.) is course be part the deposit’s metadata. From thereon, it’s up to users whether and where they cite the article, as it always was.

A: Hmm... And after the embargo period. What happens then?
-- L: Then both versions of your publication will be available. The official one only for those who work at institutes that can afford a subscription, and your manuscript for everybody.
A: Are these versions identical?
-- L: No, certainly not. But, as regards content, most differences are trivial and you can always incorporate any ultimate editorial correction in your manuscript afterwards.
A: Thus creating a third version – let's say the post-post-print?
-- L: Yes, if you wish so.

More important: The repository can also host and track postpublication revised drafts of the article, containing corrections, updates and elaborations, alongside the canonical original.

A: And the reuse conditions of the versions may be different?
-- L: Yes, they probably will be. Usually, the reuse conditions of your manuscript are not very well defined.

What “reuse conditions”? The peer-reviewed final draft, accepted for publication (along with any author updated drafts) is there to be linked, downloaded, read, stored, printed-off, data-crunched, quoted and cited by any user.

What further “reuses” are at issue? Google’s harvesting? That’s not the author’s headache... Course packs? Just link the URL.

-- L: the rest comes with the OA (and Almost-OA) territory.
A: Is it old fashioned if I feel a bit nervous about all this?
-- L: Some people might say so.
A: Well, I'll entertain the situation. Thank you very much. Good day, L.
-- L: Bon voyage, A.

Keep it simple, as it is in reality: Deposit all refereed drafts immediately upon acceptance. Set access as OA if the journal was Green (63%), and as Closed Access otherwise (37%), and rely on the Almost-OA Button. That’s all there is to it.

Stevan Harnad
American Scientist Open Access Forum