New partnerships – a Right to Research in Africa | EIFL

“A major conference co-organized by EIFL, with national and international partners, took place in South Africa on 23-27 January 2023. ‘A Right to Research in Africa? A Week of Debates on Copyright and Access to Knowledge’ was attended by over 280 legal academics, researchers, librarians, policy-makers and Geneva-based diplomats from over a dozen countries in Africa and beyond. It was the first time these diverse groups, connected by a common interest in copyright, came together to hear and to learn from each other about the copyright framework needed to support modern research.

During the conference, researchers from South Africa, Kenya and Senegal described their first-hand experiences using digital technologies to address important questions on topics such as African languages, artificial intelligence and health, and the roadblocks they sometimes face due to copyright and licensing restrictions. 

Academics and practising lawyers analyzed the legal framework, answering questions on the rights of researchers in using copyright-protected works. Government officials provided insights into the policy-making environment, copyright reforms underway in Africa and developments internationally at WIPO (the World Intellectual Property Organization). The cross-cutting discussions helped to build partnerships, create a shared understanding of the issues and the importance of balanced copyright laws in supporting cutting-edge research in Africa.

Interviews conducted with researchers and senior policymakers from Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda have been made available online, along with the full conference sessions….”

Open science train-the-trainer tips | EIFL

“Enhancing open science and open research skills by organizing train-the-trainer activities, creating training materials, and advocating for research incentives and structures that support and promote the acquisition of open science and open research skills are among EIFL’s strategic goals. 

But bringing together trainers from almost 40 EIFL partner countries in Africa, Asia and Europe is a challenge – in-person meetings are too expensive. So we opted for free online meetings although we knew these would be challenging too, because it is difficult to find a time to suit many different time zones simultaneously, internet connectivity varies, and people joining online meetings from the workplace or home may get interrupted by work priorities and day-to-day life.

To minimize these difficulties, the bootcamp comprised synchronous meetings – live on Zoom – and asynchronous learning on OpenPlato, which is OpenAIRE’s Moodle e-learning management platform. OpenPlato had been used successfully in OpenAIRE train-the-trainer bootcamps that we helped to co-organize in 2022.”

EIFL support energizes Ethiopia OA journals sector | EIFL

“With support from EIFL, Addis Ababa University Libraries (AAUL) has increased access to and visibility of research from academic institutions across Ethiopia by upgrading the national open access publishing platform, Ethiopian Journals Online (EJOL), and adding 21 new journals from 10 institutions to the platform. 

As part of the ‘Enhancing Ethiopian Journals Online’ project, AAUL has improved the look and feel of EJOL, with customized pages for each journal, including updated journal profiles and useful information for authors and reviewers (editorial policies, author guidelines, reviewer guidelines). 

By configuring editorial workflows, the project has made the platform more efficient, and integration of DOIs has made journals and articles easier to locate. 

The project team also provided training for librarians, journal editors and editorial staff to familiarize them with the upgraded journals platform and its new functionalities. 

In addition, 20 journal editors took part in workshops on the use of the publishing software, Open Journal Systems (OJS), and  the eligibility standards and criteria required for indexing in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ).  Journal editors also received journal policy templates.”

New national open access repository in Armenia | EIFL

“With support from EIFL, the National Library of Armenia (NLA) has improved access to its digital materials – open access Armenian theses and dissertations, books and the Bulletin of Armenian Libraries – through the creation of a new repository.

The new repository, which uses DSpace 7.3 software, will be part of national open science infrastructure currently under development by the Ministry of Education and Science, which is also drafting a national open science policy….”

Strengthening open access publishing in Kenya | EIFL

“A project supported by EIFL has strengthened understanding of open access publishing at 46 institutions in Kenya. It has led to increased open access journal publishing capacity and gained greater recognition for open access publishing at institutions across the country. The project raised the importance of meeting open access journal quality requirements developed by the Directory of Open Access Journals.

The project was implemented by our partner library consortium, the Kenya Library and Information Services Consortium (KLISC), which worked with institutions that wanted to publish their print journals online in open access. The project set up Open Journal Systems (OJS) publishing platforms at 17 institutions.

Some of the participating institutions have already published the current issues of their journals in open access using OJS, such as  the African Journal of Science, Technology and Social Sciences published by Meru University, and the International Research Journal of Rongo University (IJORU). Strathmore University has moved three journals online, and Kirinyaga university has moved two journals online.  The National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA) has uploaded not only current, but also back issues of the African Journal of Alcohol and Drug Abuse (AJADA)  on their OJS platform….”

Strengthening open access publishing in Kenya | EIFL

“A project supported by EIFL has strengthened understanding of open access publishing at 46 institutions in Kenya. It has led to increased open access journal publishing capacity and gained greater recognition for open access publishing at institutions across the country. The project raised the importance of meeting open access journal quality requirements developed by the Directory of Open Access Journals.

The project was implemented by our partner library consortium, the Kenya Library and Information Services Consortium (KLISC), which worked with institutions that wanted to publish their print journals online in open access. The project set up Open Journal Systems (OJS) publishing platforms at 17 institutions.

Some of the participating institutions have already published the current issues of their journals in open access using OJS, such as  the African Journal of Science, Technology and Social Sciences published by Meru University, and the International Research Journal of Rongo University (IJORU). Strathmore University has moved three journals online, and Kirinyaga university has moved two journals online.  The National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA) has uploaded not only current, but also back issues of the African Journal of Alcohol and Drug Abuse (AJADA)  on their OJS platform….”

EIFL support boosts open access in Ghana | EIFL

“A project supported by EIFL has led to the establishment of seven new institutional open access repositories at institutions in Ghana. The project also improved repositories at nine institutions and strengthened understanding of open access journal publishing at 19 institutions. 

Implemented by our national partner library consortium, the Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Ghana (CARLIGH) in 2021/22, the project aimed to increase accessibility and visibility of research at CARLIGH member institutions….”

EIFL support boosts open access in Ghana | EIFL

“A project supported by EIFL has led to the establishment of seven new institutional open access repositories at institutions in Ghana. The project also improved repositories at nine institutions and strengthened understanding of open access journal publishing at 19 institutions. 

Implemented by our national partner library consortium, the Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Ghana (CARLIGH) in 2021/22, the project aimed to increase accessibility and visibility of research at CARLIGH member institutions….”

Thirty New OA Journals Go Online in Georgia

Openjournals.ge is an open access multidisciplinary publishing platform for Georgian academic journals run by EIFL’s partner in Georgia, the Georgian Integrated Library Information System Consortium (GILISC), and ‘Ivane Javakhishvili’ Tbilisi State University (TSU) National Science Library of Georgia. 

Making universal access to research a reality | Research Information

“Transformative agreements make OA publication by authors in participating institutions as simple as possible. They are contracts between publishers and universities that fold the cost of publishing (article publication charges (APCs)) into subscription contracts and comply with various OA funder mandates. In short, they enable researchers to publish their research OA at no cost to them as the fees and admin are covered by their institutions. 

According to figures from the ESAC initiative, there has been a 60% year on year increase in TAs since 2014 when they first started recording the deals. They have been gaining momentum in Europe for several years and are now appearing in the US, Latin America, Canada, Australia and spreading across other countries around the world. 

IOP Publishing now has transformative agreements with over 300 institutions in 17 countries. The agreements come in a variety of forms, no two are exactly the same as member institutions are diverse with different sets of requirements. The number of years the agreement is in place can vary from one to three years, the types of journals included can differ, some have limits on the number of OA articles, others are uncapped. Our starting principle is to offer unlimited agreements to stimulate the greatest uptake. We see them as the most effective shift to a more open future at scale….”

Copyright and COVID: Libraries take stock | EIFL

“In February 2022, EIFL and IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions) distributed an online survey to librarians seeking information on experiences relating to copyright and licensing of electronic resources during the pandemic. …

While temporary expanded access granted by publishers to certain electronic resources was a welcome gesture, it either didn’t last long enough or the usage conditions were too complicated to allow the content to be meaningfully integrated into teaching and research activities (48%)….

To help alleviate these situations, librarians looked to use alternative materials. For example, librarians in Malawi ramped up efforts to identify, encourage and promote use of open access materials and open educational resources. In Uganda, librarians made full use of materials in the public domain or content available under an open licence, for example, the National Curriculum Development Centre produced home-schooling materials licensed for non-commercial uses, such as teaching.

The pandemic has highlighted the benefits of open access for education, science and society and the need for a copyright ecosystem that supports online education and research. As the above examples show, current copyright rules fell short of what was needed during the pandemic….”

 

Copyright and emergencies: tips for librarians | EIFL

“During the COVID-19 pandemic, librarians in EIFL partner countries began to alert EIFL about problems providing access to educational resources during lockdowns, in particular much needed textbooks. For printed materials in the library’s collection, there are often no licensed electronic versions available, especially for textbooks and other materials in local languages. In this situation, copyright law determines what librarians can and cannot do to alleviate the situation.

EIFL has put together a tip sheet on the steps to take, from a copyright perspective, to guide librarians in emergency situations when institutions are forced to close, for example, due to extreme weather, conflict, or pandemics. There are also links to resources and further information.

If the copyright law does not allow the library to supply a digital copy, unfortunately there often isn’t a quick fix. However, forewarned is forearmed and we hope that the tip sheet will encourage librarians to check their copyright law, and to initiate any national copyright law reforms that are needed to support access to resources for online education now and in any future emergency situations….”

EIFL endorses action plan for Diamond OA | EIFL

“EIFL joins more than 40 organizations to endorse the Action Plan for Diamond Open Access, which sets out priority actions required to further develop and expand a sustainable, community-driven Diamond Open Access scholarly communication ecosystem. The plan was launched on 2 March by Science Europe, cOAlition S, OPERAS, and the French National Research Agency (ANR). 

The Action Plan follows publication of the landmark Open Access Diamond Journals Study, published by Science Europe and cOAlition S in March 2021. According to the study, there are an estimated 17,000 – 29,000 Diamond Open Access journals worldwide, making them an essential component of scholarly communication, publishing 8 to 9 % of the total volume of articles published, and 45% of open access publishing….”

EIFL principles for negotiating open access agreements with publishers

“In order to contribute to making open access the default where research articles are openly available for everyone to read and publishing in open access is affordable, EIFL has developed a set of principles for negotiating agreements with publishers, drawing on negotiation principles developed by other library organizations. EIFL represents library consortia in countries with a wide range of economic situations. Some of the library consortia receive free access whereas others are eligible for highly discounted access to paywalled content….”