Dutch universities give Open Access another boost
The Dutch universities will give Open Access an extra boost from 2019 by starting a pilot titled ‘You share, we take care’ to make publications available after six months in collaboration with researchers.
In order to achieve the Dutch ambition of 100% Open Access in 2020, we have made agreements with many publishers regarding open-access publishing. Currently, this is not yet possible for all types of publications or journals. That is why, authors will be facilitated in making their academic works available to the general public online six months after publication through university repositories.
The Taverne amendment
The Dutch Copyright Act allows for this due to Section 25fa, also known as the Taverne amendment. This amendment has been translated into a number of concrete principles and will now be implemented as a pilot by the VSNU in cooperation with the Universities. Pursuant to the amendment, there are a few conditions that authors must meet in order to participate in the pilot. The academic research on which the work is based must have been funded wholly or partly with Dutch public funds, and the author or co-author must have an employment contract with a Dutch institution. Furthermore, the work must not exceed a certain length. During the pilot, authors who wish to share their work online will receive additional support where necessary.
On behalf of the VSNU, Anton Pijpers, President of the Executive Board of Utrecht University, stated: 'This concrete step in implementing the Taverne amendment, granting a wide audience access to publications shortly after their publication date, is a step in the right direction. Firstly, scientists, lecturers, students and other interested parties across the world are entitled to this where it concerns research that was completed using public resources. Secondly, it contributes to the Dutch objective of achieving 100% Open Access.'
Pilot
The pilot involves only recent publication of a limited group of authors that will be made open access in the repository six months after online publication by the publisher. The publications must fulfil the requirements of the pilot and will be registered by the University Library. Participation is only possible after confirmation by the University Library and your faculty. If you want to participate, please contact the openaccess@library.leidenuniv.nl.
For more information on the pilot, please visit open access.nl or contact openaccess@library.leidenuniv.nl.