The policy requires OA archiving for the results of SNF-funded research. Grantees may deposit their work in institutional or disciplinary repositories, and must apparently respect any embargo imposed by their publisher. The SNF does not have its own repository and does not apparently plan to launch one.
The SNF encourages without requiring publication in an OA journal, and at least sometimes will pay the publication fees at fee-based OA journals.
Comments.
Kudos to the SNF. This will be a boon to Swiss research-authors and to all research-users. It also comes at a good time, when both the US and the EU are considering OA mandates, and adds to the growing momentum for public funding agencies to mandate open access for publicly-funded research.
I’m reluctant to comment on specifics until I see a good translation. But it appears that the policy requires grantees to respect any embargo requested by their publisher. If true, this is a self-defeating mistake, since a very long embargo can effectively vitiate an OA policy. SNS should put a cap on the maximum embargo, such as six or 12 months after publication. It should also require immediate deposit even if switching access from closed to open is delayed until the embargo runs.
Update (8/11/07). Klaus Graf sends this addition and clarification: "In a nut-shell: Established embargos have to be respected. If no such embargo exists SNF will accept TA-only if the author has tried to get OA rights." (Thanks, Klaus.)
Posted by
Peter Suber at 8/10/2007 09:46:00 AM.
The open access movement:
Putting peer-reviewed scientific and scholarly literature
on the internet. Making it available free of charge and
free of most copyright and licensing restrictions.
Removing the barriers to serious research.
I recommend the OA tracking project (OATP) as the best way to stay on top of new OA developments. You can read the OATP feed on a blog-like web page or subscribe to it by RSS, email, or Twitter. You can also help build the feed by tagging new developments you encounter.
