The most recent scientific articles from the Rectores Magnifici of Dutch universities will soon be available online to the general, international public for free. By doing so, the rectors aim to set a good example for all researchers in the Netherlands. The articles will be shared via the university repositories. Our Rector Magnificus Rutger Engels also joined in.
This is in keeping with the goal in the Netherlands to be 100% open access by 2020 and is a part of the pilot “You share, we take care”. Open-access sharing of the articles across the world is possible due to changes made to Article 25fa of Dutch copyright law in 2015, which is also known as the Taverne amendment.
A good example results in good practices
Han van Krieken, Rector Magnificus of Radboud University: “Publicly funded scientific work should also be freely accessible to the public, lecturers, and academics. Recently, Dutch universities have been able to make agreements with many publishers regarding open-access publication. Unfortunately, this has not been successful every time. For this reason, it is good that the law currently — albeit provisionally — allows for open-access sharing as well. The rectors are taking the initiative and we hope that many researchers will follow suit.”
Rector magnificus Rutger Engels of Erasmus University Rotterdam: ‘Erasmus University’s policy is that all scientific articles are to be published in Open Access. Worldwide, people without connections to a scholarly institution have access to results of scholarly research. We support this contribution to society and like to encourage our academic staff warmly to participate in this process. ‘Publications of Engels since he became Rector Magnificus at EUR in June 2018 can be found here.
Rutger Engels: 'We support this contribution to society and like to encourage our academic staff warmly to participate in this process.'
For Erasmus University the pilot ‘You share, we take care’ is a continuation of the policy that has been implemented since 2011. Scientific staff is supported by the University Library, for instance to deposit their publications in the Erasmus institutional repository RePub or to apply to the Erasmus Open Access Fund to receive reimbursement for the publication fee of open access. From 2020 onwards the aim is to publish exclusively open access.
Conditions
Under certain conditions, researchers are able to share their publications in open access after six months, without having to make a specific agreement with the publisher. The scientific research on which the work is based must be financed in whole or in part by Dutch public funds and the author or co-author must be employed at a Dutch institution. It must also pertain to a brief academic work, the length of a scientific article or chapter in an edited collection.
- More information
Erasmus University researchers who want to participate in “You share, we take care” can get in contact with mr. Leonidas Pakos, University Library, Specialist Licenties & Open Access, leonidas.pakos@eur.nl