1. Publish in journals that support open access e.g. those listed in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ).
2. Contribute your work to Mount Saint Vincent University's E-Commons.
3. Retain your copyright and understand your copyright options.
- Publishers typically require authors to sign over their copyright though authors can often retain some rights to their work to make it more widely available. When negotiating publishing contract terms, consider altering the text to ensure open access for research and teaching. See the SPARC Canadian Author Addendum sample text.
- Investigate other licensing options such as those afforded by Creative Commons licenses that provide a flexible range of protections and freedoms for authors, artists, and educators.
- Be aware of publisher copyright and self-archiving policies before you publish. The SHERPA/RoMEO site provides a listing of publishers' copyright conditions as they relate to authors archiving their work on-line.
4. Get involved in reshaping scholarly communication:
- Use your influence as author, editor, scholarly society member, and reviewer. Encourage reasonable journal pricing and discourage alliances with publishers who charge exorbitant prices. Use your position to influence publishers to promote reasonable pricing and open access.
- Talk to your colleagues and MSVU librarians about scholarly publishing and Open Access issues.
