SHERPA/RoMEO Open Access Policy Tool for Publishers Peter Millington Centre for Research Communications University of Nottingham SHERPA/RoMEO for Publishers Workshop London, 20 th July 2011

Whether you are for or against open access, you need a clear policy and an accurate record in RoMEO

Policy Tool Background Small publishers seeking guidance on policies Previous experience: OpenDOAR Policy Tool – Helping to define OA repositories’ policies – e.g. Metadata re-use, Preservation, etc. Why not a RoMEO Policy Tool for Publishers? – Possibly integration with RoMEO per se – Possible integration with JULIET Database of funders’ open access policies

Analysis of Existing RoMEO Data Policies for ~1000 publishers available Analysis – For common concerns – Frequent statements – Opportunities for rationalisation – Potential contradictions and logical flaws – Unnecessary or over complicated statements – Etc.

Variability Currently RoMEO phrases are semi-standard – Some truly standard statements – Most adapted from publishers’ statements – Some directly quoted from publishers’ policies Example of Variability – ‘May be archived after 12 months’ – ‘12 months embargo’ – ‘12 months after publication’ – ‘For release 12 months after publication’

Standardising RoMEO Reducing variation – Improving clarity – Improving consistency – Simplifying wherever possible Facilitating translation in to foreign languages Assigning codes to statements – Benefiting software applications

The Problem of Definitions (1) Current version terminology – Confusion over “Pre-prints” and “Post-prints” Future version terminology – Adopting recommendations of ‘Versions’ project – Pre-print  Submitted version Author’s version before peer review – Post-print  Accepted version Author’s final version after peer review

The Problem of Definitions (2) Lack of clarity – e.g. What is an “author’s own website”? – e.g. What is an “institutional server”? Implications of Technological Advances – Cloud computing The server may not physically be at the institution – CRIS & publications systems Author’s profile pages may be generated by a CRIS Or, for instance, Mendeley

Tool Overview Most policy statements are selected using – Checkboxes, radio buttons, pick lists, etc. Definitions and explanatory help – Non-standard limitations and notes Some literal text input, e.g. – Set acknowledgement statements Error checking, e.g. – Missing dependent options – Logical inconsistencies Structured output

Output Options Display – Suitable for copy-and-paste to documents – Perhaps for discussion and refinement HTML Code – For incorporation in to websites – Initial CSS styles RoMEO Preview – How the policy would appear in RoMEO Including RoMEO Colour

Work in Progress A few options still to be added – e.g. Links to publishers’ documents Further error checking functions required Save & RoMEO Preview not yet functional Foreign language versions

Available for testing and feedback until 12 th August 2011 Demo Initial Prototype Tool

Available for testing and feedback until 12 th August 2011 Initial Prototype Tool