Australia needs a multi-faceted open access strategy

Australia’s Chief Scientist, Dr Cathy Foley, hosted a webinar this afternoon to discuss her advice to the government, Advice on open access models: Unlocking knowledge for national benefit.

Open access has been a focus for Dr Foley throughout her tenure, and the Council of Australian University Librarians (CAUL) welcomes any initiative that brings open access and open science more generally into public discourse.

CAUL’s Executive Director, Jane Angel, provided CAUL’s response to the Advice at the webinar.

“While we support the overarching aim to unlock knowledge for the national benefit and to put publicly funded research into the hands of all Australians, CAUL does not support the Public Access Model proposed in the Advice. The Public Access Model is not an open access model and does not constitute an open access strategy. It will not drive the transformation of the scholarly publishing landscape that is needed to ensure an open future, and it will only reinforce the problematic academic publishing business models that Dr Foley notes in her Advice.”

“CAUL firmly believes that Australia needs a multi-faceted open access strategy – or preferably, an open science strategy, in line with Australia’s adoption of the UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science,” said Ms Angel.

“An open science strategy for Australia would include a strong focus on open access but would situate open access within the broader context of research practice, funding, and assessment, academic reward systems, and the overall scholarly communication landscape, which is essential to realise the transformation we need.”

The CAUL Board has today released a position statement on open access, highlighting the need to drive the transition to open access through multiple approaches. “CAUL’s position on national strategy aligns with the Board’s position on open access more generally. A national open access strategy, whether a stand-alone strategy or part of a broader open science strategy, must focus on support for a diverse publishing ecosystem and multiple pathways to open access. It should not focus on establishing a mechanism to purchase content that mirrors current arrangements on a national scale but should aim higher, adopting multiple approaches to truly advance open access,” said Ms Angel.

Read the full text of Ms Angel’s response presented at the webinar and the CAUL Board position statement on open access.

About CAUL

The Council of Australian University Librarians (CAUL) is the peak collegiate body for the leaders of university libraries in Australia and New Zealand. CAUL facilitates connection and collaboration, and optimises its collective knowledge, expertise, and resources, to achieve strategic outcomes at scale in priority areas for the university library sector. CAUL is the trusted voice of the university library sector in the region. CAUL is committed to advancing open access in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, through strategic content procurement, advocacy, and programs of strategic activities.

Contact

Jane Angel, Executive Director, Council of Australian University Librarians

caul@caul.edu.au 

Documents

Board position on open access (pdf, 166.34 KB, last modified 12/09/2024)

CAUL response to the Chief Scientist’s Advice on open access models (pdf, 76.27 KB, last modified 12/09/2024)