May 14, 2020. – The Canadian Association of Research Libraries is pleased to announce the release of its Institutional Open Access Policy Template for Canadian institutions, which is accompanied by a toolkit to help prepare those wishing to develop such a policy on their campus.
Starting in 2003, institutions and funders worldwide have adopted open access mandates or policies that promote openly sharing research outputs as a means of expressing support for – and engagement with – open access. In Canada, the launch of the Tri-Agency Open Access Policy on Publications has been the catalyst for several institutional policies (most mention it explicitly). There are currently ten institution-wide policies in Canada, two applying to individual faculties or departments, and seven policies endorsed by institutions’ librarians and archivists.
The sections of this toolkit (Key Principles Underlying a Policy’s Rationale, Beginning the Journey Towards an OA Policy, Lessons Learned, and more) are designed to support first efforts to create an institution-wide policy, but can also be helpful in developing faculty- or department-specific policies, or in expanding an institution’s existing policies.
CARL acknowledges that open access policy practices are evolving quickly, and plans to revise the policy template and toolkit on an ongoing basis in response to shifting norms and expectations.
This project stems from CARL’S Advancing Research Committee, which is tasked with developing CARL positions, priorities, and initiatives that collectively aim to foster a sustainable scholarly research ecosystem in Canada. CARL wishes to recognize the leadership and work of Joy Kirchner (Dean of Libraries, York University), who with support from Lise Brin (Program Officer, CARL) developed this policy template and accompanying toolkit. Thanks as well to Guylaine Beaudry, Jonathan Bengtson, Gwen Bird, Donna Bourne-Tyson, Richard Dumont, Mark Robertson, Diane Sauvé, Martha Whitehead, and Elizabeth Yates.
Please note that a webinar presenting the toolkit, to be led by Joy Kirchner, is planned for Wednesday, June 17, 2020, 1 p.m. ET. More details will follow shortly.
> English version of template and toolkit
> French version of template and toolkit
CARL members include Canada’s twenty-nine largest university libraries as well as two national libraries. Enhancing research and higher education are at the heart of its mission. CARL develops the capacity to support this mission, promotes effective and sustainable scholarly communication, and public policy that enables broad access to scholarly information.
For more information, please contact:
Lise Brin, Program Officer
902.318.4485
