[Open-access] Risks in using an Addendum

[Steven Bhardwaj]

>
> *I've never heard even a rumour of a journal either cancelling or delaying
> publication due to an author's use of an addendum. AT WORST they will just
> refuse to accept the addendum.*


Great to hear! Perhaps anecdotes like yours are all I need for hard
evidence, if there are enough of them. Maybe I should draft an open letter
that expresses what you are saying, and get it signed by a number of
academics, deans, provosts, and the like, at institutions where many papers
are published with addenda.

Would an open letter would be a good method? Has it already been done, or
is there a better way?

*I recommend a simpler solution: just place your manuscript in the public
> domain. This will put it on the same footing as works produced by the US
> Federal Government, e.g. palaeontologists working for the Bureau of Land
> Management. Then when the journal asks for copyright transfer, you can
> simply and honestly reply that there is no copyright to transfer, but that
> give enthusiastic permission to publish.*


That's certainly innovative and exciting, a daredevil way to publish a work
open-access... I like it! I reviewed an interesting thread on the topic here
on svpow<http://svpow.com/2012/12/13/what-would-happen-if-i-placed-my-manuscripts-in-the-public-domain/>
that
you participated in. However, I worry that faculty leadership at my
institution are somewhat loss-averse regarding their junior faculty's
publications. The query I am reporting comes from comments made by one of
our Associate Provosts. I expect that none could accuse her of playing fast
and loose with the university's academic ranking.

-Steven Bhardwaj
sbhard at bu.edu




On Wed, Dec 11, 2013 at 8:59 AM, Mike Taylor <mike at indexdata.com> wrote:

> I can only offer more anecdotal evidence: I've never heard even a
> rumour of a journal either cancelling or delaying publication due to
> an author's use of an addendum. AT WORST they will just refuse to
> accept the addendum.
>
> Meanwhile, I recommend a simpler solution: just place your manuscript
> in the public domain. This will put it on the same footing as works
> produced by the US Federal Government, e.g. palaeontologists working
> for the Bureau of Land Management. Then when the journal asks for
> copyright transfer, you can simply and honestly reply that there is no
> copyright to transfer, but that give enthusiastic permission to
> publish.
>
> -- Mike.
>
>
>
>
> On 11 December 2013 13:38, Steven Bhardwaj <sbhard at bu.edu> wrote:
> > Dear Colleagues,
> >
> > I suspect the following question may seem frustrating, but it may become
> an
> > important talking point in our Open Access advocacy work at Boston
> > University.
> >
> > We are advocating for an opt-out OA policy, as described here. A
> practical
> > question has come up, and I am trying to improve our response to it. I
> think
> > that if we had a stronger response to this question, it might ease the
> > bureaucratic process greatly.
> >
> > Question:
> >
> > Consider a young Assistant Professor, "Professor Priya," who just got an
> > article accepted by a prestigious toll-access journal. She receives the
> > publishing contract in an email, and it restricts Green Open Access
> rather
> > strictly.
> >
> > Earnestly complying with her university's new opt-out policy, Priya signs
> > the contract with an Author's Addendum, and sends it in.
> >
> > Should Priya be concerned about including this addendum? Is there a risk
> > that her inclusion of the addendum will delay the article's publication,
> or
> > even cause the journal's acceptance of the article to be canceled? Or,
> can
> > she rest assured that the publisher will reply back in a timely fashion,
> > allowing her to get the article published.
> >
> > She is willing to agree to a reasonable embargo period, and even to
> opt-out
> > of some of the authors' rights reserved under the opt-out policy. But she
> > doesn't want to miss this opportunity to get this article published. The
> > tenure-track review board is meeting next month!
> >
> >
> > My institutional librarians have assured me that "Professor Priya" has
> > nothing to worry about. However, I am left with few advocacy tools other
> > than their anecdotal assurances. I would love to remove this nebulous
> worry
> > from the pro/con balance of an opt-out policy here at BU.
> >
> > What kind of harder evidence could help assure the faculty that the
> addendum
> > will certainly not affect Priya's already-accepted article being
> published
> > in a timely fashion? A survey of institutional librarians? A survey of
> > publishers? A survey of journal editors?
> >
> > Thanks much for your time and consideration of this query.
> >
> > Sincerely,
> > -Steven Bhardwaj
> > sbhard at bu.edu
> > Economics PhD Candidate
> > Boston University for Open Access
> > buoa.blogspot.com
> >
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