Category Archives: oa.coar

Request your next PREreview on bioRxiv and SciELO Preprints via the COAR Notify Protocol

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“We are thrilled to announce the launch of our new request-a-review feature on PREreview.org! Powered by the COAR Notify Protocol, and built in collaboration with eLife and Sciety, this new feature will help you improve your research ahead of wider distribution or publication.

bioRxiv and SciELO Preprints have joined PREreview as our first collaborators in this work to bring this request-a-review feature to life. That means that the next time you submit a preprint to either repository, you’ll be able to request reviews from the PREreview community with the click of a button….”

Current State and Future Directions for Open Repositories in Europe

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“In January 2023, OpenAIRE, LIBER, SPARC Europe, and COAR launched a joint strategy aimed at strengthening the European repository network. As a first step, a survey of the European repository landscape was undertaken in February-March 2023. The survey found that, collectively, European repositories acquire, preserve and provide open access to tens or possibly hundreds of millions of valuable research outputs and represent critical, not-for-profit infrastructure in the European open science landscape. They are used for sharing articles that may be pay-walled in published journals, but also for providing access to a large variety of other types of research outputs including research data, theses/dissertations, conference papers, preprints, code, and so on. 

However, in order to ensure the European repository network is fit for purpose and able to support the evolving needs of the research community, the survey also identified three areas in particular that could be strengthened: maintaining up-to-date, highly functioning software platforms; applying consistent and comprehensive good practices in terms of metadata, preservation, and usage statistics; and gaining appropriate visibility in the scholarly ecosystem.

Despite the challenges, the current climate offers exciting opportunities for repositories. Many funders are actively promoting the repository route for articles because of their role in supporting equitable access to content (i.e. no fees to access or deposit). The value proposition for open science is growing and repositories are increasingly recognised as the main mechanism for collecting and providing access to a wide range of other research outputs. Add to this, the nascent, but growing, interest in the publish-review-curate model in which repositories have a central function, and it seems they are well placed to expand their current role in the ecosystem. 

The survey provides essential data that will help shape a joint strategy to enhance and strengthen European repositories that will be developed over the next several months.”

The critical role of repositories in advancing open scholarship | ID: 27ceeede-448d-45e5-beb1-01c2351fa42c | Hyku

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Abstract:  There are thousands of repositories worldwide, which collectively preserve and provide access to hundreds of millions of scholarly resources. These repositories – mainly hosted by libraries, universities, governments and research centres – represent critical public infrastructure enabling researchers, students and the general public can reap the benefits of research. Yet, there are also challenges for optimizing this global network, which include a lack of interoperability and insufficient resourcing. This talk will discuss the benefits of open science, provide an overview of the current repository landscape, and identify the specific actions being undertaken by COAR and others to advance our collective vision.

 

US Repository Network launches pilot to enhance discoverability of Open Access content in repositories

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“In November, the US Repository Network (USRN) will launch a pilot project aimed at improving the discoverability of articles in repositories. This pilot project involves the use of services from CORE, a not-for-profit aggregator based at Open University in the UK, to evaluate and improve local repository practices. Additional technical support will be provided by Antleaf Ltd.

As part of the project, CORE will aggregate the metadata and full text of articles from a subset of US repositories, allowing them to be findable through a centralized discovery service with prominent links back to the original full text of the repository. At the same time, the project will assess current practices related to metadata quality, the tracking of Open Access deposits, the use of PIDs, technical support for OAI-PMH, and the adoption of more recent protocols, such as FAIR Signposting. At the level of the centralized aggregation, CORE will enrich the existing US metadata with information from its larger international aggregation. A Dashboard service for participating institutions will be provided, enabling them to assess, validate and monitor their practices.

The one-year project involves 18 repositories representing a variety of institutions, software types and repository models and will result in concrete recommendations and best practice guidelines for machine and human discoverability of research articles in US repositories.”

US Repository Network launches pilot to enhance discoverability of content in repositories

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“COAR has been working with the US Repository Network (USRN) to connect and strengthen the position of repositories in the US.  With the advent of the recent OSTP Memorandum requiring Ensuring Free, Immediate, and Equitable Access to Federally Funded Research – which directs government research funders and agencies to adopt policies that require adopt immediate public access to articles – the need has become more urgent, especially in terms of effectively tracking research outputs.

The USRN is launching a pilot project aimed at improving the discoverability of articles in repositories. This pilot project involves the use of services from CORE (a not-for-profit aggregator based at Open University in the UK) to evaluate and improve local repository practices. Additional technical support will be provided by Antleaf Ltd.

The one-year project involves 18 repositories representing a variety of institutions, software types and repository models and will result in concrete recommendations and best practice guidelines for machine and human discoverability of research articles in US repositories.  The project will also lead to greater international interoperability of US research outputs.”

Adopting Good Practices in Asian Repositories: A Community Conversation

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“This 2-hour webinar will include presentations about two COAR recommendations – the COAR Community Framework for Good Practices in Repositories and COAR’s good practice advice on managing multilingual and non-English language content in repositories – and will be followed by an interactive discussion with attendees.”

Managing multilingual and non-English language content in repositories | COAR

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Multilingualism is critical for a healthy, inclusive, and diverse research communications landscape.  After decades of policies that have directed researchers to publish in English, we are starting to see a reversal of this trend. The UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science, for example, calls on member states to encourage “multilingualism in the practice of science, in scientific publications and in academic communications”. In China, Europe, and other jurisdictions, policy makers are introducing new measures that encourage researchers to publish in local languages.

In August 2022, COAR launched the COAR Task Force on Supporting Multilingualism and non-English Content in Repositories to develop and promote good practices for repositories in managing multilingual and non-English content. Based on 17 use cases contributed from different stakeholders communities (repository managers and users, authors and translators, aggregators and discovery systems), the Task Force identified three relevant areas for their work:

Enhancing discoverability of non-English content
Curating multilingual content in a repository
Supporting translations

In June 2023, the Task Force published an initial set of draft recommendations for community review. The consultation resulted in a wide range of input, which was reviewed by the Task Force and incorporated into the recommendations document. This document presents the updated recommendations based on this community input. The recommendations identify good practices for repository managers and repository software developers, and focus on the topics of metadata, multilingual keywords, user interfaces, formats, and licences that will improve the visibility, discovery and reuse of repository content in a variety of languages.

 

COAR’s response to the American Chemical Society’s new fee for repository deposit – COAR

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“COAR strongly objects to this charge for the following reasons:

Authors own their manuscripts and should retain their rights. Authors typically hold the copyright to their research, but too often transfer those rights to publishers when publishing their manuscript. When authors retain the copyright to their manuscript, they have the right to disseminate and use their own manuscript as they choose. If authors’ rights are retained, publishers do not own an article accepted manuscript (AAM) and researchers should not be duped into paying a fee to exercise a right they already have.
This fee is in direct contravention with the ethos of open science and scholarship and equity. Science is about sharing and advancing knowledge and open access policies are being designed very carefully to ensure that all researchers are able to do so, even if they do not have funding to pay to publish their articles.
ACS is charging $2,500 while providing no added value. There is not a fee for an extra service offered. It requires no extra work on the side of the publisher, but rather is an attempt to develop a new revenue stream, while at the same time they will be receiving funds from subscriptions and pay-to-access for this same article. ACS is creating a false impression about compliance with funder policies. There is no charge for complying with funder OA policies. Nor is there any charge for depositing manuscripts in OA repositories. A fee is only required if you want to publish in an ACS journal and sign over your rights….”

Statement from Martha Whitehead Celebrating Open Access Week 2023 | Harvard Library

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“This year’s International Open Access Week theme, “Community Over Commercialization,” provides a welcome focus on a version of open access we advocate for at Harvard Library: collaborative scholarly publishing models with no article processing charges (APCs).

Commercialization itself isn’t the issue — in academia we routinely pay fees for commercial services, and commercialization is often a desirable outcome of research and innovation. Our objection is the extractive model of scholarly publishing in which huge APCs of up to $10,000 per article are levied by commercial publishers, while researchers contribute the articles and peer review for free. This model has advanced profit-driven open access, but not equitable open access. Essentially it works against the original ethos of open access, which was to reduce barriers and enable the free flow of ideas and knowledge across the research ecosystem and to the public at large.

This is why rights retention is one of the foundational elements of the equitable open access models we support at Harvard Library. This year we’re celebrating the 15th anniversary of unanimous votes by faculty in Harvard’s Faculty of Arts & Sciences and the Harvard Law School to give Harvard a nonexclusive, irrevocable right to distribute their scholarly articles for any non-commercial purpose. Other Harvard schools and research centers subsequently voted to establish similar open access policies, and “the Harvard model” has been adopted by nearly 100 institutions and policymakers around the world. As well, we’re delighted to be celebrating the 10th anniversary of our Copyright First Responders program, which helps advance teaching, learning, and scholarship through community engagement with copyright questions, not just at Harvard but in many regions of the country….”

COAR Asia OA Survey on India’s Institutional Repositories

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“Dear repository managers in India,   COAR (Confederation of Open Access Repositories) Asia OA would like to invite a representative from each institutional repository to participate in this survey that aims to gather information on the current interoperability status of India’s institutional repositories.   Your participation will enable us to understand the local landscape better and identify areas that could potentially benefit from more help.   Survey findings will be presented at the next COAR Asia OA Meeting, which is likely to be in New Delhi, India in 2024 (date to be confirmed). The aggregated survey data may be used for research and development in a manner that does not identify the name of the specific institution or survey participants.   The survey has 18 questions and will take about 10 minutes to complete.   The survey will close on November 3, 2023 ”

Persistent Identifiers: Addressing the challenges of global adoption – COAR

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“The aim of this blog post is to raise awareness about certain issues related to the adoption of persistent identifiers (PIDs), which especially impact developing countries and to propose an alternative approach that will enable greater global inclusiveness and more widespread adoption of PIDs across the world….

While the original aim of PIDs services was to offer persistence, some DOI Registration Agencies  or “RAs” (2) have been developing value-added services with the metadata they collect, which is then repurposed as part of a value-added service offering, turning it into a kind of managed research ecosystem. At least two DOI-based aggregations (Crossref and Datacite) have been created for the purpose of discovery, tracking, and analysis of research production….

Firstly, there are substantial cost barriers to the adoption of DOIs for organizations in developing countries. The costs of minting DOIs (or joining DataCite or Crossref – even as a consortium) makes them unaffordable in many parts of Africa, Asia, and Latin America, where there are often little or no budgets for these types of services….

Possibly more problematic than the cost issue is the risk of monopolization. A global requirement for a DOI (and therefore to be represented in the metadata aggregation) by funders and governments in order for a resource to be “counted” or considered “legitimate” has the potential to create a quasi-monopolistic system, which gives a few players undue influence and introduces the risk of profiteering….

Instead of focusing our efforts on the centralization and use of a few selective DOI services – which will end up excluding many due to financial barriers – the best way forward is for institutions, countries, and regions to choose the PID service that is most suitable in their own local context and conditions. Only in this way can we ensure the broadest possible adoption of PIDs across the scholarly landscape. And, while there is a value proposition for focusing on just one or two global PID services, the risks of creating a “haves” and “have nots” universe must be avoided….”

COAR welcomes the Council of EU Conclusions on High-quality, Transparent, Open, Trustworthy and Equitable Scholarly Publishing – COAR

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“As a major voice for repositories at the international level, COAR joins other organizations in welcoming the Council of European Union’s Conclusions on high-quality, transparent, open, trustworthy and equitable scholarly publishing, which highlight the importance of not-for-profit, scholarly open access publishing models….

There are over 3,000 open access repositories in Europe (1) – mainly hosted by universities, research centers and government agencies – that are a critical component of a not-for-profit scholarly communications infrastructure; one that can and should be leveraged to achieve the aims of the Council’s Conclusions. Repositories are much more than a parallel system (collecting manuscripts of paywalled papers). They reflect an investment in public research infrastructure that can expand and support innovation in scholarly publishing by connecting repository resources to value-added services, such as peer review (see for example, the model adopted by HAL and Peer Community In)….”

eLife and PREreview to enhance the ‘publish, review, curate’ ecosystem through adoption of COAR Notify | For the press | eLife

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“eLife and PREreview are pleased to announce that the Confederation of Open Access Repositories (COAR) will provide them with technical and funding support to implement the COAR Notify technology. With this support, the organisations will work to connect separate services within the ‘publish, review, curate’ ecosystem.

The project will put in place the basic infrastructure and protocols needed for all-round and standardised connections between preprint repositories, community-led preprint review platforms, journals, and preprint review aggregation and curation platforms. The aim is to lower existing technological and cost barriers so that as many of these services as possible can more easily participate in the ‘publish, review, curate’ future for research….”

eLife and PREreview to enhance the ‘publish, review, curate’ ecosystem through adoption of COAR Notify | For the press | eLife

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“eLife and PREreview are pleased to announce that the Confederation of Open Access Repositories (COAR) will provide them with technical and funding support to implement the COAR Notify technology. With this support, the organisations will work to connect separate services within the ‘publish, review, curate’ ecosystem.

The project will put in place the basic infrastructure and protocols needed for all-round and standardised connections between preprint repositories, community-led preprint review platforms, journals, and preprint review aggregation and curation platforms. The aim is to lower existing technological and cost barriers so that as many of these services as possible can more easily participate in the ‘publish, review, curate’ future for research….”

COAR Notify: overview of year one – COAR

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“The COAR Notify Initiative is developing and accelerating community adoption of a standard, interoperable, and decentralised approach to linking research outputs hosted in the distributed network of repositories with resources from external review services. COAR Notify was launched in 2021, and was awarded a significant grant from Arcadia, a charitable foundation that works to protect nature, preserve cultural heritage and promote open access to knowledge, in 2022. As of June 30, 2023, we marked the end of the first year of the Arcadia-funded project, which has significantly accelerated our progress on several fronts: …”