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Scholarly Communication

Open Access Policy Guide: Opting Out

This post is the first in the “Open Access Policy Guide” series. This series will address components of the IU Bloomington Open Access Policy and its implementation. We have written other posts about passing the policy, leveraging the license (Part I & Part II), and resources to support it.

What is Opting Out?

The IU Bloomington Open Access Policy is an opt-out policy. This means that if faculty do not wish to make a version of their published article openly available, they must opt out of the policy. When a faculty member opts out of the policy, a waiver letter signed by the Vice Provost for Faculty and Academic Affairs is generated. This letter waives the university’s license for your article.

The Scholarly Communication Department is working to make it as easy as possible to opt out of the policy and generate a waiver letter. Are you a faculty member who needs to opt out of published articles? There are two methods you can use to opt out.

Method One

In IU’s annual reporting system – Digital Measures Activity Insight – faculty will see a new option in the Publications/Scholarship of Discovery category. This option is “Opt out of the open access policy for this article (IUPUI & IUB only).” To opt out of the policy for an article, simply click this box. A waiver letter will be generated and emailed to you.

Image 1: video of how to opt out in DMAI
Opting out in DMAI

Method Two

This is the best opt-out method if you need a waiver letter instantly and prefer not to wait for us to email you one. In IUScholarWorks Open (our repository extension to support the policy which will be launched shortly), complete the ‘Opt-out’ submission form. Enter your name, article title, and journal name (ISSN and DOI are recommended but optional). Select submit, and a waiver letter will be automatically generated for download. You will also receive an email with the waiver letter as an attachment. If you opt out using this method, you are not required to check the box in method one – we will track your waivers and ensure that it applies when you complete your annual report.

Image 2: video of how to opt out in IU ScholarWorks Open
Opting out in IUScholarWorks Open

Frequently Asked Opt Out Questions

Do I need to opt out for every article I have ever published?

No. The policy only applies to articles published after it was passed on February 21, 2017.

What if I forget to opt out for an article but realize later that I need a waiver?

The policy states that you are able to change the archival status of an article at your discretion. Please contact us to make this change and generate a waiver letter.

What if I co-author a paper with another IU Bloomington faculty member and one of us opts out in DMAI but the other does not?

In the event that there are multiple IUB faculty members who have co-authored an article and one opts out in DMAI, we will honor the request of the faculty member who opts out. Or, as the Head of our Copyright Program puts it, “While the creator of a joint work can license a work separately, their license cannot override another co-author’s denial of a license.”

I want to opt out for all of my articles, how do I do that?

According to the policy, “Upon express direction by the Faculty member, the Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty and Academic Affairs, or his or her designate will waive application of the policy for a particular article.” This means that faculty members must opt out for each article published after February 21, 2017. The fastest way to achieve this is by clicking the opt out button for each article when you are completing your annual report.

My publisher says that I need to apply an embargo (make an article unavailable for a predetermined amount of time) – does this mean I need to opt out? How do I make it available when the embargo has elapsed?

You do not need to opt out for an article that requires an embargo period before it can be made openly available. The IUScholarWorks Open repository will restrict the article and automatically release it after the designated amount of time has passed.

I have more questions – where can I find help?

We have an FAQ for the policy available on our website that provides helpful answers to a range of policy questions. We are also available by email at iusw @ indiana . edu and will soon be announcing drop-in sessions to answer questions about the policy.

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