Get Involved | The OA Switchboard Initiative

Get Involved! Initial consultation stage -A part of Phase 2 of the 2020 project

The OAswitchboard very happy you’re interested in participating in the initial consultation stage. Below are some first topics that we're seeking input on. Please get in touch by e-mail to share your thoughts, and we'll be happy to discuss with you. Your contributions will be made visible on this page.

1) Data fields - OA-related manuscript/article-level metadata

Journal manuscript/article-level metadata needed for an Eligibility Enquiry may be different from metadata for OA books, book chapters and conference papers. In this initial consultation, we are seeking input on the differences and specifics:

1. What OA-related metadata are specific for OA books, book chapters and conference papers (and not relevant for journal articles)?

2. What OA-related journal manuscript/article-level metadata are not relevant for OA books, book chapters and conference papers?

2) Glossary - List of relevant terms, with definitions

To ensure right from the start we all speak the same language, we want to create an alphabetical list of OA Switchboard relevant terms, with definitions for those terms. Think of words like:

• article
• author
• billing
• business model
• manuscript
• OA license
• publication charge
• submission

We are seeking input on terms and definitions.

Background:

Open Access (OA) output is growing year-on-year. Increasingly, funders and institutions are paying for OA centrally. OA business models are becoming ever more diverse and complicated. Funders and institutions are expanding the requirements about how various research outputs should be published.

The increasingly complex network of agreements between publishers and institutions, along with the rise in number of policies associated with open access publications by academic institutions and funders poses serious implementation challenges:

• Many-to-many relationships to be maintained between the multitude of stakeholder groups (and their members), and a myriad of systems

• Manual and human interaction, using non-standardised language and terminology

• Lack of oversight and real-time monitoring, thus difficulty in detailed billing and in tracking spend and committed funds

As a consequence, policies are not always effectively implemented and agreements not realised to the full. There is a considerable administrative burden on publishers, institutions and funders, and the experience for the researcher/author can be confusing.