From: "Wise, Alicia (ELS-OXF)" <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Thu, 21 May 2015 15:58:30 +0000

Hello everyone –

Just a quick note to draw your attention to our article, posted today
in Elsevier Connect and in response to yesterday’s statement by COAR:

http://www.elsevier.com/connect/coar-recting-the-record.

I’ll also append the full text of this response below.

You might also be interested in this Library Connect webinar on some
of the new institutional repository services we are piloting
(http://libraryconnect.elsevier.com/articles/2015-01/webinar-institutional-research-repositories-characteristics-relationships-and-roles)
and reading our policies for yourselves:

·         Sharing –
http://www.elsevier.com/about/policies/article-posting-policy

·         Hosting - http://www.elsevier.com/about/policies/hosting



With best wishes,

Alicia

*********

COAR-recting the record

We have received neutral-to-positive responses from research
institutions and the wider research community. We are therefore a
little surprised that COAR has formed such a negative view, and chosen
not to feedback their concerns directly to us.  We would like to
correct the misperceptions.

Our sharing policy is more liberal in supporting the dissemination and
use of research:

* At each stage of the publication process authors can share their
research: before submission, from acceptance, upon publication, and
post publication.
In institutional repositories, which no longer require a formal
agreement to host full text content

* Authors can also share on commercial platforms such as social
collaboration networks

* We provide new services to authors such as the share link which
enables authors to post and share a customized link for 50 days free
access to the final published article

* For authors who want free immediate access to their articles, we
continue to give all authors a choice to publish gold open access with
a wide number of open access journals and over 1600 hybrid titles

Unlike the claims in this COAR document, the policy changes are based
on feedback from our authors and institutional partners, they are
evidence-based, and they are in alignment with the STM article sharing
principles.  They introduce absolutely no changes in our embargo
periods.  And they are not intended to suddenly embargo and make
inaccessible content currently available to readers – as we have
already communicated in Elsevier Connect.

In fact, we have been developing services, in partnership with
libraries, to help institutional repositories track research output
and display content to their users. This includes:

•  Sharing metadata: In order to showcase an institutions’ work, an
institutional repository must identify their institution’s research
output. By integrating the ScienceDirect metadata API into the
repository, this task becomes simple. Even in cases where the
repository doesn’t hold the full text manuscript, the article
information and abstract can be displayed..

•  Sharing user access information and embedding final articles: We
are testing a workflow in which a user’s access level to the full text
is checked on the fly, and if full text access is available, the user
will be served the final published version, instead of the preprint or
manuscript hosted by the repository. Users who are not entitled to
view the full text of the final article will be led to the version
available in the repository, or- if this is not available- to a page
where they can view the first page of the article and options for
accessing it (including via interlibrary loan). This ensures that
users will always be served the best available version. This also
enables the repository to display the best available version to their
users even if no self-archived manuscript is available.

We have not only updated our policies, we are active in developing and
delivering technology that enables research to be shared more widely.

COAR states that the addition of a CC-BY-NC-ND license is unhelpful.
Feedback suggests that clarity about how manuscripts can be used is
welcome, when asked in surveys often choose NC ND of their own
volition (see the T&F study from 2014 at:
http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/explore/open-access-survey-june2014.pdf
), and it works across a broad range of use cases.

Our refreshed policies are about green OA, and some elements of this –
for example the use of embargo periods – are specifically for green OA
when it is operating in tandem with the subscription business model.
Here time is needed for the subscription model to operate as libraries
will understandably not subscribe if this material is available
immediately and for free.

In closing, we appreciate an open dialogue and are always happy to
have a dialogue to discuss these, or any other, issues further.

Dr Alicia Wise
Director of Access and Policy
Elsevier I The Boulevard I Langford Lane I Kidlington I Oxford I OX5 1GB
M: +44 (0) 7823 536 826 I E: [log in to unmask]