In May 2014, the Faculty Council held a successful vote on a proposal to update BU’s open access initiative recommendation of 2008 and adopt an opt-out open access policy. This fall, the Council of Deans and the University Council take up the topic.

The policy represents a significant change in how we approach open access at BU. Under it, final author drafts of all peer-reviewed journal articles will be deposited for preservation into OpenBU, the institutional digital repository. By default they will be openly accessible by anyone with an internet connection; authors may opt out of open access by filling out a waiver form on a per-article basis. The waiver is granted automatically.

If adopted, BU will become one of 24 AAU institutions with similar policies.

During the international annual Open Access Week event, in which BU will participate for the fourth year, we will hold a meeting to discuss the policy change in the works – why we are pursuing it, the changes it represents for you, and elements of how we plan to implement it, with a particular focus on promoting your research while minimizing impact on your workflows.

Presenters will include:

• Robert Hudson, University Librarian
• Jack Ammerman, Associate University Librarian for Digital Initiatives and Open Access
• Vika Zafrin, Institutional Repository Librarian

A substantial part of our time will be devoted to Q&A and discussion with the audience.

Please RSVP to research@bu.edu to help us best plan this event. We hope you choose to join us for this important discussion, and look forward to seeing you.