From: Sue Gardner <[log in to unmask]> Date: Wed, 1 Oct 2014 13:59:52 +0000 Laura, For purposes of biological nomenclature, the appearance of nomenclatural acts, such as establishment of new genus and species names, in written works must follow the pertinent code, such as the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN), and others. The release of a dissertation in electronic format can violate these codes, so professors and graduates who work in taxonomy request to embargo ETDs until proper publication of the names can take place. I believe it is a courtesy that we allow ample time (several years--as long as they need) for our colleagues in this field to complete the work. Taxonomy is exacting and time-consuming and species description is often just one of many tasks the authors are engaged in. Two years seems a woefully brief period for an embargo. There is a protocol in place in the taxonomy community to work around mandated deposit of manuscripts, such that authors can register names in a database, such as Zoo Bank, to validate the names, but I think this places an unfair burden on the authors who may wish to publish the names in a more elegant and purposeful manner. I know of instances, also, where names presented in ETDs have turned out to be ones that should never be released because later data showed that there were problems with the original designations, or because another author established another name for one of the organisms ahead of the one in the ETD. Here is a link to one pertinent section of the ICZN that covers this issue: http://www.nhm.ac.uk/hosted-sites/iczn/code/index.jsp?nfv=true&article=9 and a link to information about proper electronic publication of names: http://iczn.org/content/electronic-publication-made-available-amendment-code Best wishes, Sue Gardner Sue Ann Gardner, MLS Scholarly Communications Librarian Discovery and Resource Management University of Nebraska-Lincoln Lincoln, Nebraska 68588-4100 USA [log in to unmask] ________________________________________ From: Laura Czerniewicz <[log in to unmask]> Date: Tue, 30 Sep 2014 20:08:37 +0000 Thanks for a very useful list which I enjoy following. I now need to get a sense from others. Our university Council recently passed an open access mandate which inter alia requires theses and dissertations for be deposited before graduation. Two of the faculties have requested that the metadata be put up but there be a two year embargo to allow time for publishing. What are the pros and cons of doing this in others’ experiences? What reasons might one give in argument either way? Thanks in advance Laura ________________________________ UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN