Members of Atkins Library’s Scholarly Communications Committee have been working with the Office of Legal Affairs to develop a campus-wide open access policy. An open access policy would enable the university to archive the full text of faculty journal articles in UNC Charlotte’s open repository, Niner Commons. This aligns with UNC Charlotte’s existing copyright policy, under which faculty grant the university a non-exclusive license to use their work for non-commercial educational and research uses.
How would an open access policy work on campus? Faculty would not be expected to track and submit their work through the repository. The library would conduct this process and make it as seamless as possible. This policy would also allow you to easily opt out of participating whenever required by your publisher.
Open access policies are a well established practice within the scholarly communications landscape, with the majority of policies passed over ten years ago. You can learn more about the proposed policy through these resources:
Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions or feedback. The proposed policy will be scheduled for a vote by Faculty Council during the Spring 2024 semester.