Five-Point Plan to Address Open Access

"After studying how best to address open access to its publications, the IEEE Board of Directors approved a five-point approach in November [2010]....Here is the formal plan: [1] IEEE will engage in a public dialogue to ensure that the publication of high-quality, peer-reviewed, financially sustainable journals remains an essential part of its mission as a learned society. [2] Open access is best accomplished using IEEE's existing approach to publishing. This preserves the peer-review process that ensures the integrity of the research presented. [3] Open access can coexist with traditional publishing. IEEE will continue to allow authors to post manuscripts of their articles accepted by IEEE journals on their own Web sites or those of their employers. [4] IEEE will continue experimenting with open access and monitor its impact on the organization. [5] Any open-access approach must respect the intellectual property rights of authors and publishers....As part of IEEE's experiment with open-access publishing models, the IEEE Board of Directors in August endorsed a so-called author-pays option. IEEE says that option will test the viability of the approach in supporting publishing costs....A handful of IEEE journals are already experimenting with hybrid open access....IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies uses another model, called delayed open access, which makes papers available for free one year after they've been published...."