Open Access Strategy Statement
The University Libraries supports long-term, large-scale transformation of scholarly communications to Open Access (OA). To advance this goal, we will:
- Invest in projects that transform scholarly communications;
- Educate the University community about open access and options for making their own scholarship open;
- Leverage the Carolina Digital Repository as an open and accessible repository for the University’s research output.
Background
As a public university, UNC-Chapel Hill is accountable to the taxpayers of North Carolina and has a responsibility to bring more transparency, affordability, and openness to research and scholarship.
The business model of for-profit publishers prioritizes profits and shareholder gain over what is best for research and what benefits the public, which has paid for research through tax dollars.
Universities and groups of universities around the world have begun taking steps to reclaim research and moderate runaway subscription costs. These include the University of California system, Louisiana State University, and consortial groups in Germany and Finland.
Controlling our payments to major publishers will enable the Libraries and the University to invest in vital parts of the scholarly environment that have been marginalized, such as university presses, learned societies, and non-profit publishers.
The University’s Faculty Council supports this approach, as expressed in: