Open Access (OA)

This page gives information about Open Access initiatives which are likely to have an effect on local researchers. Please let us know about any issues raised or problems experienced during the publication process. We are keen to help you find solutions and to share our growing experience in this new and growing area so that others may benefit. Please contact us at neurolibrary@ion.ucl.ac.uk.

What is Open Access & why is it important?

Open Access (also called OA) aims to offer equitable access to research outputs for researchers across the globe. A fuller definition and more background information are given below.

UCL's Open Access Policy - UCL Academic Board has approved an Open Access policy, ensuring that, subject to copyright permissions, all UCL research is placed online in UCL Eprints, freely available to all. For more details, see the June 2009 Press Release. A UCL Publications Board has been convened to oversee the implementation of the UCL Open Access Policy. For further information about UCL Eprints and Open Access generally, see About UCL Eprints. For information about funding at UCL for open access publishing, please contact: open-access-funding@ucl.ac.uk.

Research funders' Open Access Policies - In addition, various key research funding bodies in the UK have mandated the use of Open Access journals for the publication of research outputs arising from work they have funded (including both the MRC and the Wellcome Trust). Researchers need to think about who is funding their research and make themselves familiar with the terms of any grant they receive. You can find details about the open access policy of your funder via the SHERPA JULIET service at: www.sherpa.ac.uk/juliet/. The major local funders' policies are summarised below.

  • General advice: for general information about funding at UCL for open access publishing, please contact: open-access-funding@ucl.ac.uk
  • Department of Health (DoH): research funded by DoH now requires deposit of research papers in UKPMC. Applies to applications after 1st April 2007.
  • Cancer Research UK: research funded by Cancer Research UK now requires deposit of research papers in UKPMC. Applies to applications after 1st June 2007.
  • MRC: research funded by the MRC now requires deposit of research papers in UKPMC within 6 months of publication. Applies to applications after 1st October 2006. Funding for any charges should now be included in any grant applications to the MRC. [MRC guidance : frequently asked questions : MRC home page]
  • Wellcome Trust: research funded by the Wellcome now requires deposit of research papers in UKPMC within 6 months of publication. Applies to all applications regardless of award date. The Library has been advised that UCL has a block grant which, provided the journal complies with the Wellcome guidance, can be used to fund any 'author pays' charges - more information is available from UCL Library Services. [Wellcome guidance : Wellcome home page : 'How to comply' FLOW CHART PDF]

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Wellcome Trust open access audit

Early in 2009 the Wellcome Trust undertook an audit of its grantholders to ensure compliance with the open access mandate. The following links should prove useful for anyone being audited:

Please note that some journals require authors to pay a fee in order to make an article open access. The Wellcome Trust has provided UCL with a block grant to cover these charges, see information & instructions about claiming funds from this grant.

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Which journals offer Open Access & what authors need to do

  • What authors need to do: find out if the journal(s) in which you want to publish will meet the terms of your grant before submitting the articles. Check the RoMEO listing (see below) for guidance and/or consult the journal editor. Holders of grants from the Wellcome can apply for funding to cover the costs of any charges the publishers impose (see details above).
  • How to find out whether a journal allows for Open Access: look up the journal in the SHERPA/RoMEO listing to find out if a publisher's default policies comply with the funder's requirements for Open Access. The RoMEO list indicates with a green tick if a journal is compliant with the funders' requirements. Please note that the information within RoMEO is for guidance only; publishers' terms & conditions change from time to time; also, the policy for an individual journal may differ from the publisher's default policy. It is advisable to double-check policies with the editor or the publisher before proceeding with publication.

  • How does an article become Open Access?

    • Some publishers automatically make the articles they publish freely available online some time after publication and will automatically place then into UKPMC on behalf of the authors. The amount of time varies from publisher to publisher and from journal to journal but if the article is freely available within 6 months of publication the article is likely to meet most funder's requirements.
    • Some publishers make articles freely available online only if the author (or institution) pays a fee, usually referred to as the 'OA paid' or 'author pays' model. The article will usually be made freely available immediately and will usually be placed automatically into UKPMC by the publisher; this will usually meet the funders' requirements.
    • some publishers allow an author to place a copy of their article into an institutional eprint repository (for more information see UCL ePrints) or to deposit the paper into UKPMC themselves. However, note that some funders (including the MRC and Wellcome) require deposit in the UKPMC repository and using only a local repository may not meet a funder's requirements.
  • How to acknowledge the source of funding in a journal article - there are now recommendations for standard text from the Research Information Network (RIN), a body set up in 2005 by a consortium of UK sponsors (the 4 HE funding bodies, the 3 national libraries and the 7 Research Councils).

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UKPMC & other Open Access (OA) repositories

  • UK PubMed Central (UKPMC) www.ukpmc.ac.uk - UKPMC was launched in January 2007 and is modelled on the United States' PubMed Central. Depositing research outputs into UKPMC is mandated by both the MRC and the Wellcome Trust, along with some other funding organisations who are part of the UKPMC funding consortium. Note that it is now possible to search for PMCID numbers (to be submitted as proof of compliance), even for embargoed articles: more information here.
  • UCL ePrints eprints.ucl.ac.uk - UCL Library Services provides UCL ePrints, a repository which allows UCL researchers to make papers freely available, provided they comply with publishers conditions. You can look up publishers' conditions at the SHERPA/RoMEO website.

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Open Access (OA): definition & background

  • Definition: a widely accepted definition comes from the MRC who state that an Open Access publication is one that meets the following two conditions (taken from the MRC website August 2006):

    • The author(s) and copyright holder(s) grant(s) to all users a free, irrevocable, worldwide, perpetual (for the lifetime of the applicable copyright) right of access to, and a licence to copy, use, distribute, perform and display the work publicly and to make and distribute derivative works in any digital medium for any reasonable purpose, subject to proper attribution of authorship, as well as the right to make small numbers of printed copies for their personal use.
    • A complete version of the work and all supplemental materials, including a copy of the permission as stated above, in a suitable standard electronic format is deposited immediately upon initial publication in at least one online repository that is supported by an academic institution, scholarly society, government agency, or other well-established organization that seeks to enable open access, unrestricted distribution, interoperability, and long-term archiving.
  • Background: UCL Library Services has created a web page of information about general scholarly communication issues, including Open Access.

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Useful Open Access (OA) links

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