Publishing activity and attitudes towards open access publishing in the University of Borås : results of a study undertaken by the Library & Learning Resources and the Swedish School of Library and Information Science

1. Interviews and a questionnaire survey were conducted with researchers and policy makers in the University of Borås to obtain information on current publishing practices, the publishing policy of the institution, and attitudes towards open access.2. Considerable variation in researchers’ understanding of these issues was found, but a number of common factors emerged that led to the recommendations made here. The rationale for the recommendations is set out in the concluding section of this report.3. Recommendations:3.1. The University’s publishing policy should be strengthened by requiring all research outputs or (in the case of exhibitions, etc.) documentary evidence of those outputs to be deposited in BADA in full‐text form. Library should receive a mandate to implement this policy to its fullextent. Where publishers’ embargos exist, it should be the library’s responsibility to determine when the paper, etc., can be made openly available.3.2. A resource allocation model for research should be developed which prioritises thecontinuation of and application for doctoral education rights, while preserving research that is directed at supporting the University’s goal of serving as a “university of the professions”.3.3. Consideration should be given to the adoption of a document management system (orenterprise content management system) such as Sharepoint from Microsoft, or KnowledgeTreeInc., or one of the open source alternatives, such as Alfresco, LogicalDoc or OpenKM formanagement of research and research data. The costs and benefits of such an action should be explored in association with representatives of the departments.3.4. Research staff needs to be made more aware of the need to deposit the full text of theirpublications in BADA. The role of the repository records in assigning research resources and in relation to promotion procedures should be emphasised, as well as the benefits that come from having an internationally‐visible archive of research outputs.3.5. The potential of Open Journal Systems for managing the publication process of existing journals published in the University should be explored.3.6. In addition to any university‐wide activity, seminars on the nature of open access publishing, etc., should be held in each Department, to ensure that all researchers are aware of the possibilities.3.7. Researchers should be advised of the existence of the “author’s addendum” and its terms and of their right to require that publishers accept such an addendum.3.8. Consideration should be given to expanding the role of the library in research support, provided that additional resources can be devoted to this. Specific topics suggested by respondents included: help with English writing; appointment of ‘research librarians’ to liaise with research groups in making proposals to funding agencies; considering recommendation 5 above; extending the scope of information literacy activities to researchers; providing bibliometric services to individuals and research groups; and provide advice on the national ranking criteria and their relevance to researchers. 3.9. The library should review how it disseminates information on the support it can give to research throughout the University and bring forward a plan for a support structure that can be provided to all researchers. This may take the form of a printed guide to research services, supported by existing and newly developed pages on the library Web site.3.10 The resource implications of these recommendations, especially as they affect the library's functions, should be evaluated