Wiktoria: Could you please introduce yourselves and your roles at our university?
Wendy: My name is Wendy, and I am an Open Research Coordinator publishing at the University of Salford. I support postgraduate students and academic staff in publishing their research open access, disseminate it, and share it with the world. I am part of the library’s open research team, which assists researchers, not only with open access and publishing but also with making their data open and managing their research data.
Tracy: My name is Tracy, and I am an Academic Support Librarian supporting the School of Science, Engineering & Environment. I help students, academic staff, and researchers develop their information literacy and research skills. I offer guidance and support in finding academic information, referencing, and maintaining academic integrity. I also manage the Science, Engineering & Environment collections. I am part of the Library, Careers & Enterprise Team.
Wiktoria: In your own words, what would you say Open Access is and how is it different from traditional subscription-based model?
Wendy: Open Access enables anyone, anywhere in the world, to read research material as long as they have access to the Internet. They do not need to be part of a library or an academic institution that pays for a library subscription to access that content. This reduces international barriers and allows charitable groups, members of the public, and others to view this material, not just the academic community. If the research is published with a Creative Commons license, it can be reused and built upon, leading to further innovation. Studies show that Open Access content is cited more than subscription content, which makes sense because it is freely available and, therefore, more likely to be picked up and cited. The benefits extend not only to the researchers themselves but also to society as a whole.
Wiktoria: What are the challenges behind using Open Access and how are they being addressed?
Wendy: There are different routes to Open Access. One option is Gold Open Access, where the publisher makes the content openly accessible. This usually requires a fee called an article processing charge (APC), which averages around £2,000–£3,000 but can cost up to £10,000. Depending on the author’s funding to pay this Open Access charge, they may or may not be able to publish with that journal. We have a number of deals with publishers that enable our corresponding authors from Salford to publish Gold Open Access for free, and these are all listed on our website. These deals are intended to move journals away from being subscription-based to becoming fully Open Access journals. Over time, more content will be published as Open Access, and eventually, the journal will flip, no longer depending on the subscription model. The aim was for journals to become fully Open Access, but studies show that this is taking much longer than previously hoped, so as a sector, we are exploring other models to enable Open Access publishing.
For example, another model is Diamond Open Access, where, like Gold Open Access, the publisher makes the work Open Access, but there isn’t a fee for the author, allowing them to publish in that journal without worrying about funding. These Diamond journals are funded through different business models that are more sustainable and equitable than the traditional Gold Open Access model.
The final model is Green Open Access. In this model, the accepted version of the paper—the final peer-reviewed version before any formatting by the publisher—can be made Open Access in our repository, USIR, at no cost to the author. When authors sign a contract with a journal, they usually transfer their copyright to the publisher, who then decides whether there is an embargo on open access and determines the license terms. There is a strong push at the moment to have Open Access available immediately upon publication, with a clear Creative Commons license to enable maximum reuse of the research. We aim to enable all of our researchers to make their work Open Access in this way, which is why we prefer equitable and sustainable open access models.
Wiktoria: What rights do the authors have to their content?
Wendy: When you sign a contract with a publisher, you are signing over the copyright of that work to them. The publisher then becomes the copyright owner and determines how the work is used. If an author wants to reuse it in any way, they have to contact the publisher and ask for permission because they’ve lost control of their rights. There is a significant movement called Plan S, started by a group of funders, including UKRI and the Wellcome Trust. Plan S enables authors to retain their rights so that works can be made immediately Open Access with a CC BY license.Plan S funder policies state that when an author submits a paper, they must include a statement within the paper indicating that any accepted papers resulting from the submission can be made immediately Open Access with a CC BY license in a repository. Starting with Edinburgh, many institutions have developed institutional rights retention policies to enable their authors to retain their rights, and Salford is in the process of working towards implementing its own policy.
Wiktoria: Could you tell us more about the licensing that our ‘Bioscientist’ magazine currently operates under?
Wendy: The ‘Bioscientist’ runs on Salford Open Journals, an open-source platform. This means that Salford maintains and manages it without relying on a commercial organization for any part of the publishing process. The journals on the platform operate as Diamond Open Access publications, providing immediate Open Access without any charges to authors for either access or publishing. The system includes publishing workflows that simplify the process from article submission to full publication. These workflows incorporate the allocation of a digital object identifier (DOI), a persistent identifier for each article, and allow editors to assign various types of licenses. For this material, the Creative Commons license is most appropriate, which is why it is used for the magazine. This license is the most permissive, requiring that anyone reusing the content attributes the author to ensure they receive credit for their work. The journal titles are assigned an ISSN, a unique identifier that is considered best practice in article publishing. Additionally, the system connects with ORCID, a unique identifier for researchers.
These features enable authors to adhere to best practices from the start. By including these identifiers, the article metadata is harvested by Google Scholar and the university library catalogue search, which increases the reach and engagement of the articles and provides analytics on views and downloads displayed on the article pages. Each article also has the option to generate citations in different styles, allowing your work to be recognized and referred to. This setup allows our students to publish using best practices in a straightforward and accessible manner.
Tracy: As an author, you benefit from having your work widely accessible. Not only do you gain visibility and reach through Google Scholar and the library catalogue (Library Search), but you also have the opportunity to develop your skills by using a publishing platform like this. As an editor, you engage in various publishing processes, such as peer review and article management, which will strengthen your research skills over time. If you’re an Early Career Researcher, you might not be fully aware of all the Open Access options Wendy mentioned earlier. It is important for us to make you aware of and inform you about the options that best fit your research. We are here to support you in making these choices.
Wiktoria: Can our students count on library support with starting their own journal publications?
Tracy: Yes, of course. It is a university wide platform, so if any ideas come forward to the library, we'll be able to look at those individually.
Wiktoria: Thank you, that was very informative. Lastly, if a student wanted to access a journal locked behind the paywall, could the library gain access to this specific material?
Tracy: We have systems in place to obtain resources for students. If there is a specific journal article you need from a subscription-based journal that we do not have access to, we can request it for you. We offer a service called ‘You Want It,’ where you can place resource requests. This service typically handles individual articles or book chapters, rather than whole journal access. It is free for students, researchers, and staff to use, though there is a cost to the university.
If a journal or resource subscription is deemed beneficial for the university's teaching, learning, and research purposes, we have a separate process for evaluating these requests. This involves a series of checks to assess content coverage, accessibility, cost, and other factors. This process is longer, whereas if you encounter a paywall when trying to access a single journal article or book chapter, we can facilitate that through the ‘You Want It’ service.
There are also other ways that our students can access resources, so feel free to check these out:
‘You Want It’ service
Our ‘You Want It’ service enables you to request articles from subscription-based journals and books/chapters that the university doesn't have access to. This is free to use for students, researchers, and staff. You can access the service here: https://www.salford.ac.uk/library/find-resources/you-want-it-service
Lean Library
Lean Library is a browser extension that simplifies accessing articles, journals, and databases, making research easier, especially off-campus. Lean Library can be accessed here: https://www.salford.ac.uk/library/find-resources/lean-library
Unpaywall
Unpaywall is an open database giving access to free scholarly articles. It has a browser plugin that allows users to access full-text PDFs of resources easily and quickly, for free, when available. You can access this here: https://unpaywall.org/
University of Salford Institutional Repository (USIR)
USIR is an Open Access showcase for the published research output of the university. Our collection contains a wide range of research across multiple formats and subject areas and can be accessed here https://salford-repository.worktribe.com/
Open Access Support
We have lots of support with Open Access available for PGRs and academic staff. You can find out more here: https://www.salford.ac.uk/library/open-research/open-access/support-for-open-access-funding