SPARC, Open Access, and Digital Preservation

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SPARC, Open Access, and Digital Preservation
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Ray EnglishDirector of LibrariesOberlin
CollegeMember, SPARC Steering Committeeray.engli
sh_at_oberlin.edu
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Main Topics

• About SPARC
• Why SPARC was founded
• What SPARC does
• SPARC and digital preservation

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About SPARC

• Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources
  Coalition
• http//www.arl.org/sparc/
• Initiative of the Association of Research
  Libraries
• Approx 200 full and consortial members
• SPARC Europe

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Why SPARC?

• Formed to address dysfunctions in the system of
  scholarly communication
• Serials crisis
• Increasing corporate control
• Loss of access
• Declining monograph purchases
• Effects on university presses
• Loss of dissemination
• Unsustainable system

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What SPARC Does

• Works for transformational change through
• Publishing activities
• Advocacy
• Education

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Publishing

• Partnerships
• SPARC Alternatives
• SPARC Leading Edge
• SPARC Scientific Communities
• Advisory Services

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Advocacy

• Antimerger work
• Information Access Alliance
• Open access
• Open Access Working Group
• UK Inquiry
• NIH and open access

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Education

• Create Change
• Declaring Independence
• Workshops
• Institutional Repositories The Next Stage
• November 1819, 2004, Washington, D.C.
• Conference programs
• Speaking
• Publications, brochures

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SPARC and Digital Preservation

• Not a primary focus
• Transformational change is highest priority
• Supports archiving and digital preservation

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SPARC Open Access Strategies

• Open access journals
• Author self-archiving
• Institutional repositories
• Disciplinary repositories

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Open Access Journals

• SPARC Partners
• Algebraic and Geometric Topology (SA)
• BioMed Central (SLE)
• Documenta Mathematica (SLE)
• Economics Bulletin (SA)
• Geometry and Topology (SA)
• Journal of Insect Science (SLE)
• Journal of Machine Learning (SA)
• New Journal of Physics (SLE)
• Public Library of Science (SLE)

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Directory Open Access Journalshttp//www.doaj.org
/

• SPARC partner (SLE)
• 1278 titles
• All peer reviewed

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SPARC, OA Journals, and Digital Preservation

• Encouraging best practices, standards
• OAI compliance
• Persistent naming
• Facilitates a LOCKSS-type preservation strategy

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Author Self-Archiving

• Institutional Repositories
• The Case for Institutional Repositories
• A SPARC Position Paper
• http//www.arl.org/sparc/IR/ir.html
• SPARC Institutional Repository
  Checklist and Resource Guide
  http//www.arl.org/sparc/IR/IR_Guide.html
• Disciplinary repositories

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NIH and Open Access

• Proposal handout
• Comment at NIH website
• SPARCs role in promoting this change
• Alliance for Taxpayer Access
• http//www.arl.org/ata/

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SPARC

• Is making a difference.
• If your library isnt a member, join!
• If your library is a member, support SPARC
  initiatives!