The Dartmouth - Faculty talk open-access policy

"Faculty members met over wine and cheese Monday afternoon to discuss a proposal to make the final pre-published version of faculty-authored scholarly articles available through a public digital repository. This open-access policy mirrors those of around 170 other universities, including Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The trend toward open access follows a rising cost of journal subscriptions, which restricts the availability of scholarly work for many outside academia. The conversation was further sparked by the January 2013 death of pro-open access activist Aaron Swartz, who committed suicide after facing prosecution for his illegal downloading of JSTOR archives. The open-access policy would not require faculty to publish in open-access journals, nor would it take away their personal copyright. Faculty could also request an embargo or a waiver to opt out of the policy, based on the requirements of the publishing journal. An upcoming Monday meeting of the arts and sciences faculty will address the topic. Information resources associate librarian Elizabeth Kirk said in an interview that the resolution has so far encountered little to no 'philosophical pushback,' noting that she had only received logistical questions ..."