The role of the European library community in driving change to rights retention, copyright and open licensing through policymaking

Abstract

Europe has seen a significant growth in Open Access (OA) policies and many institutions have been updating their policies and augmenting them with changed stances on rights retention, copyright and Open Licensing. These policy changes have been very much driven by the library community, operating within different institutional contexts, in response to funder and national policies, and different legislative frameworks. Research institutions are seeking ways to ensure that researchers are not overwhelmed by complex requirements and incentives, and to support them in meeting publisher and funder mandates.

Stichting IFLA Foundation Programme, in partnership with LIBER and SPARC Europe, are implementing a three-year Arcadia Foundation-funded programme to reform copyright laws, regulations and other policy measures that enable libraries to provide significantly improved access to and use of copyrighted works. The Knowledge Rights 21 Project aims to promote change at European, national and local levels by accelerating the uptake of rights retention and open licensing. This presentation will draw on both quantitative data and qualitative lessons learnt from the research phase of Project Retain, which builds an evidence-base around current policies on copyright, rights retention and open licensing. This work will underpin a campaign for change and be used as a baseline for tracking future progress.

The presentation will draw on a survey with over 200 respondents, over 15 interviews and focus groups to articulate the role the library community is playing in driving policy change in a number of countries across Europe. The speakers will draw attention to the drivers and blockers of progress, offer examples of good practices and case studies showcasing innovative approaches to change management, whilst highlighting the different contexts and the stakeholder groups the library community is working with. For example, the importance of peer influence, network organisation for policymaking for strength in numbers, the availability of empowered and knowledgeable legal advisers, strong engagement strategies and the ability to adapt to feedback received when engaging researchers.

The presentation will articulate an Open Access call to action to encourage more institutional policymaking in the area of rights retention and open licensing to enable a simplified legal framework that better ensures the greater autonomy for authors and their institutions when seeking to publish OA. The institutional policymaking resources needed for a new paradigm where copyright supports Open Science will be outlined. The speakers will seek input from delegates on their own needs and challenges to increase institutional policymaking in Europe.