[Dspace-general] Question for the Librarians

[Ingrid Mason]

Hi Shawna,

Mandatory deposit hasn't been implemented here in New Zealand by any
tertiary institution with a repository (as far as I know). 

Experience of my colleague Grant Barrie at Canterbury University and
mine here at Victoria University of Wellington is that the appeal to
academics seems to lie more heavily with their ability to disseminate to
a wider audience.  Which is a simple, but HUGE benefit, especially when
research ('grey literature') that hasn't reached a wide audience, is now
accessible to them.  I think putting the issues of open access and
mandatory deposit in the background is very wise (having read some
other's responses).  

Interestingly, an exercise up at Auckland University, undertaken by
Leonie Hayes and her team, with seeking permission from students for
electronic copies of theses has been very positive.  Tertiary
institutions that offer Masters and PhD courses are all in the process
of examining their statutes and regulations to get students to deposit
on a mandatory basis.  I think as that practice grows it will help move
things along (from a campus perspective).  

So, I suspect there may be issues of attitudes to change, and comfort or
ease with operating professionally online, thus culture change here.
Whether or not a 'top down' [mandatory], 'creeping ivy' [patchwork
mandate], or 'let's see' [voluntary] approach is taken, it is still
going to take time and I think that's worth remembering when you have
the sort of tension you've witnessed surface.  

Thanks for raising this issue, this has been valuable thread.

Ingrid 




-----Original Message-----
From: dspace-general-bounces at mit.edu
[mailto:dspace-general-bounces at mit.edu] On Behalf Of Shawna Sadler
Sent: Friday, 23 February 2007 4:45 a.m.
To: dspace-general at mit.edu
Subject: [Dspace-general] Question for the Librarians

Hello Librarians and other people who communicate with faculty on
campus.

Has anyone else received backlash from their faculty about this new push

for mandatory deposit of federally funded research?

I have one journal editor on campus who is absolutely irate. His journal

is with Lippincott Williams which of course has the most conservative of

policies when it comes to institutional repositories. I was presenting 
our IR to the faculty and my presentation turned into an open access
debate.

Are any of you taking a proactive stance on the matter, or just waiting 
for the dust to settle and ready to accept research when everyone has 
calmed down? I haven't decided yet and would like to hear how you are 
approaching this issue on campus.

Thanks,
Shawna

-- 
Shawna Sadler
Coordinator, Digital Initiatives
Libraries & Cultural Resources
University of Calgary
Phone: (403) 220-3739
Email: ssadler at ucalgary.ca

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