January 28, 2015: New Open Access Policy

Dear Colleagues,

We are writing today to share information about the University of Minnesota's new Open Access to Scholarly Articles policy, which took effect January 1.

The policy—initiated by faculty members and approved by the Faculty Senate—supports open options for you and other University authors to make your research more accessible to the public. The policy, which applies to articles finished after December 31, 2014, grants the University a limited right to make your work available for open access purposes. You may undo the granting of this right for any reason, and for any or all publications.

Other important information about the new Open Access policy:

  • Authors do not need to change their publishing practices. They merely need to decide if they wish to opt out of the University's open access policy.
  • Requests, via an online form, to waive application of the policy will be automatically granted.
  • Authors retain copyright in their works; the University is provided a nonexclusive right to disseminate the work.

The University Libraries are supporting this policy through the University Digital Conservancy and through consultation services that help authors understand publishing options, authors' rights, and their options in the University's open access policy.

Benefits of the University Digital Conservancy include the ability to self-deposit articles and other materials; free and open access to and increased visibility for your scholarship; compliance with federally mandated requirements (e.g., funding agency requirements for open access); and full-text discoverability and long-term preservation of your work.

If you have any questions or comments about this policy, please email [email protected].

Sincerely, 
Karen Hanson, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost 
Rebecca Ropers-Huilman, Faculty Consultative Committee Chair 
Jennifer Alexander, Senate Library Committee Chair

For more information, see:

Email sent January 28, 2015 to all faculty.