>SPARC News
>Partner News
>Industry Roundup
>Resources for Authors
>Resources for Publishers
>Upcoming Events
>Articles of Interest
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1. SPARC News

Mandatory public access does not violate copyright obligations [PDF], a joint brief from ARL, ALA, and SPARC, is now available.

SPARC letter to members on the PRISM anti-open access effort.

CARL and SPARC release a Canadian Author Addendum, a new tool for authors in Canada to retain key rights to the journal articles they publish.

Join the new SPARC-ADVOCACY list for updates on developments related to public access to publicly funded research. Members and others may now pick and choose the types of e-updates they receive from SPARC.
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2. Partner News

BioOne is participating in the innovative SERU (Shared Electronic Resource Understanding) pilot program, sponsored by NISO. BioOne joins an inaugural group of publishers, libraries, and consortia that have agreed to use SERU on a trial basis.

Microsoft Research is now sponsoring the BioMed Central 2007 Research Awards. In other news, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) has signed up for BioMed Central Membership under which HHMI will centrally fund the article processing charges for all research published by HHMI investigators in BioMed Central journals.

PLoS has released a "sneak preview" research article and related commentary that showcases the broad-reaching content that will be featured in its newest journal. All PLoS content is freely available online.

The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy anticipates reaching its intermediate goal of collecting $1.5 million in membership dues needed to secure the $500,000 in matching funds offered by the NEH.

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In SPARC Webcasts:
> The importance of public access to publicly funded research for patient advocates (Recorded August 30, 2007)
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3. Industry Roundup

University of California Report on Scholarly Communication. In a new report from the University of California Office of Scholarly Communications, "Faculty Attitudes and Behaviors Regarding Scholarly Communication," researchers report and analyze 1,100+ survey responses covering a range of scholarly communication issues from faculty in all disciplines and ranks. In related news, the University of California has released a September 24 letter from Provost Wyatt Hume to Senator Diane Feinstein, supporting a public access mandate at the NIH.

Canadian Institute for Health Research Posts New Policy. The Canadian Institute for Health Research has posted its initial Policy for Access Research Outputs.

University of Wisconsin launches Library Fund for Open Access Publishing. With the establishment of the Office of Scholarly Communication and Publishing (OSCP), UW-Madison librarians will begin publicizing the availability of funding support for open-access publishing as a part of their outreach and liaison activities.

Open Access Documentary Project. The Open Society Institute has awarded a grant to support the production and distribution of the Open Access Documentary Project, a collection of online videos celebrating the benefits of open access to scientific and medical research. Intelligent Television and BioMed Central are co-producers of the Project.

British Biosciences Federation Supports Open Access. The (U.K.) Biosciences Federation, an organization of nearly 50 UK Learned Societies, has issued a position statement in favor of Open Access.

Researchers asked for their opinion. The European research community is invited to participate in a usability survey of the DRIVER Search service. Anyone interested in participating in the survey may contact info@driver-support.eu for further details.

Fedora Commons Awarded Grant. Fedora Commons has been awarded a $4.9 million grant to develop open-source software for building collaborative information communities.

New German Funding Program. The German Research Society (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, or DFG) has announced a funding program to launch new science journals, expand existing journals, and help print journals make the transition to electronic publication. To be eligible for funding, the journals must meet the DFG guidelines for open access, peer review, and preservation.

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4. SPARC Resources for Authors
This new section for authors will highlight new and featured material from the SPARC web site.

The Create Change site features a new profile on Dr. Zhigang Suo, one of the founding architects of iMechanica.org. Dr. Suo is the Allen E. and Marilyn M. Puckett professor of mechanics and materials at Harvard University and is one of the founding architects of iMechanica.org.

The Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) and SPARC have released the SPARC Canadian Author Addendum, a new tool for authors in Canada to retain key rights to the journal articles they publish.

SPARC/ARL/ACRL Webcast: Understanding Author Rights.

More SPARC Resources for Authors.
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5. SPARC Resources for Publishers
This new section for publishers will highlight new and featured material from the SPARC web site.

Greg Tananbaum joins SPARC Consulting Group. Coalition expands service to equip digital initiatives with tools for self-sufficiency and success.

SERU trial effective through December. NISO's SERU draft on shared e-resource understanding is in trial use through December 20. In related news, the SERU working group has released SERU 0.9 for pilot use in e-resource transactions.

More SPARC Resources for Publishers.
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6. Upcoming Events

More SPARC activities and events on the Web site.

Digital Scholarship/Digital Libraries Symposium
November 2, 2007, Emory Conference Center (Silverbell Pavillion), Atlanta, GA

SPARC 2008 Institutional Repositories Meeting
November 17 & 18, 2008, Baltimore, MD
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7. Articles of Interest

Albanese, Andrew. ARL Challenges Publishers' PR Campaign Against Open Access Legislation. Library Journal Academic Newswire. September 12, 2007.

Another Journal Board Resigns. (Blog entry.) August 6, 2007.

Barton, Emily. To save money, 'U' cuts journals. The Michigan Daily. September 24, 2007.

Boyle, James. The irony of a web without science. Financial Times. September 4, 2007.

Giles, Jim. Information Wants to be Free. The New Scientist. September 21, 2007.

Hiatt, Alexandria. Profs might make their articles free. Harvard Crimson. September 27, 2007.

Howard, Jennifer. University-Press Leader Quit Publishers' Panel Over Anti-Open-Access Campaign. Chronicle of Higher Education News Blog. September 11, 2007.

Grush, Mary. A Foundation for Digital Repositories: An interview with Michele Kimpton, executive director of the newly formed DSpace Foundation. Campus Technology. September 26, 2007.

Noyes, Andrew. Provision To Put Health Research Online Spurs Fight. National Journal.

Public deserves access to NIH research work. (Editorial.) Honolulu Advertiser.

Turtle, Elizabeth C., and Martin P. Courtois. Scholarly Communication: Science Librarians as Advocates for Change. Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship, Summer 2007.

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You can help create a more open system of scholarly communication.

SPARC membership is open to North American and international academic and research institutions that share an interest in creating a more open and diverse marketplace for scholarly communication. Visit the SPARC Web site to learn how.