Open Access Initiative
Background
In 2001, the Boston University faculty endorsed specific goals and strategies to promoteUniversity leadership, innovation, and excellence in teaching, research, and service, including the creation of frameworks to:
- Coordinate information and resources that promote faculty research
- Develop effective systems to support faculty research activities
- Facilitate faculty access to research funding opportunities at all career stages
- Create effective networks that promote interdisciplinary research
- Provide faculty and students with easy access to teaching-related information
- Provide students with access to faculty research training opportunities
- Integrate faculty, library, information technology and academic computing
- resources
Since that time, many activities have emerged throughout the Institution in support of these goals: faculty development in teaching and research, on-line teaching and research resources, expansion of library and IT facilities and resources, and new methods of highlighting faculty research, teaching and scholarly activities in School and College web frameworks and external communications (such as BU Today).
The University’s Strategic Plan (2005-2008) emphasizes the importance of “Strengthening the quality of the faculty…As we continually increase the profile of our faculty in research and scholarship”. It further endorses commitments to “hiring, promoting, and retaining faculty members who are excellent teachers, as well as leaders in research, scholarship, and professional accomplishment”; and “promoting research and scholarship within and across traditional disciplinary boundaries”. In 2007, the Faculty Council’s Committee on Research Activities, Libraries and Support Services in conjunction with the University Council Committee on Scholarly Activities and Libraries began to discuss innovative ways to advance and promote faculty and student scholarship through digital, Open Access frameworks. In 2008, these Committees opened a web-based university-wide discussion of these topics which culminated in recommendations for the implementation of an initiative on Scholarship, Libraries and Open Access Archiving. The initiative recognizes that Boston University endorses the open and free exchange of scholarly information as a cornerstone of intellectual freedom and views Open Access Archiving as a key element in its pursuit of leadership, innovation, and excellence in teaching, research, and service.
Recommendation: Approved unanimously by the Boston University Faculty Council on September 16, 2008
The University Council recommends that Boston University take a leadership role in the
development and implementation of policies and procedures that encourage the free and
open exchange of scholarship by supporting faculty and other researchers in the
following areas:
- 1. Establishment of an innovative, model infrastructure for a central Boston University Knowledge Base and Institutional Repository to accomplish the following:
- a. host and preserve digital research, scholarship and teaching activities, including BU theses and dissertations;
- b. create optimal utility of a flexible format Open Access framework thatutilizes a transparent, controlled vocabulary navigation system with key word retrieval;
- c. link multiple internal and external data bases that facilitate and relate to faculty research, teaching and scholarly activities, including current faculty CVs;
- d. facilitate ease of faculty, student and administrative use and best practices within the Open Access framework through training and departmental support;
- e. promote faculty research, teaching and scholarship with innovative new electronic tools and resources facilitated by Open Access.
- 2. Promotion of Open Access in routine operations that include:
- a. use of non-exclusive copyright agreements with publishers;
- b. publication in peer-reviewed Open Access journals;
- c. equal consideration of peer-reviewed Open Access journals during tenure and promotion;
- d. support of libraries in negotiating licenses and contracts with publishers to lower costs and retention of titles;
- e. encourage Boston University journals to participate in Open Access publishing.
Boston University Faculty Council. Survey on Faculty Excellence in Teaching, Research and Service. 2001.
R. E. Hudson
B. Millen
A. Tahmassian
May 3, 2007 Updated August 20, 2007, April 22, 2008, September 16, 2008
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