Green vs Gold: Digging into Open Access Models

The world of open access contains a colourful array of options for researchers who want to make their findings publicly accessible. Terms like green OA, gold OA, and even diamond or platinum OA are often used by publishers and funding agencies to describe different kinds of "open," but the distinctions can be confusing!

What you need to know:

1. Green and Gold labels don't refer the the level of openness or the value of either model; they refer to the way articles are being made open:

Green Open Access mean that a version of the author's manuscript OR a copy of the published version of the article is made freely available through an institutional or subject repository, like ERA, PubMed Central, or arXiv.org. Green OA is usually free for the author, and may have conditions imposed by the journal. A recent article exploring the benefits of open science found that 72% of publishers allowed their articles to also be shared through green OA.

The University of Alberta Libraries can work with you or on your behalf to deposit your articles in our institutional repository, ERA: Education and Research Archive.

Gold Open Access means that the article is published by the journal as an open access article and is made available free of charge through the journal's publishing platform or website. Many (but not all) publishers charge article processing charges (or APCs) to authors to publish gold OA.


2. Green and Gold OA both meet the requirements of the Tri-Agency Open Access Policy on Publications.

If you are required by your granting agency to make your research OA, but aren't sure how, contact your subject librarian or the ERA Helpdesk as erahelp@ualberta.ca / 780-492-4359.

3. Green and Gold OA can peacefully co-exist. If an article is published in a gold OA journal, it can often be shared in an institutional repository as a green OA article. This can lead to greater exposure for OA articles, as well as provide additional safeguards for the long-term preservation of the article and allow institutions to display more complete collections of their researchers' works in their repositories.

4. There are better ways to understand how open a journal is. For example, the large non-profit OA publisher Public Library of Science (PLOS), the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC), and the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA) have created HowOpenIsIt.This guide looks at the openness of content for readers, the ease with which authors can share their work, and whether software programs can mine text and metadata.

Look up your favourite journals on the OA Spectrum Evaluation Tool and see how they stack up!

Indigenous Reads: Beginning Your Reconciliation Journey at UAL

Working within Indigenous librarianship, we often get asked how people can participate in reconciliation. Reconciliation can be very slippery as it is a topic that is partnered with intense emotions coming both from Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. While there is a lot of work to be done towards reconciliation, it doesn’t need to be a scary task. Everyone can and should participate!

Archives Move into RCRF

The archives move into the new Research and Collections Resource Facility (RCRF) will be complete at the end of November ... a month ahead of schedule!

We expect that the Reading Room will be available for archive appointments in January. Stay tuned.

Photos

Bookmark this: 5 Major US Papers in 1 Place

Get real news from five of the most respected daily newspapers in the United States. Updated every morning with the latest issues, and with content going back to the 1980’s, US Major Daily Newspapers is the best place to search for timely news stories.

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

Share the Space - Help Make the Library Comfortable

The University of Alberta Libraries is introducing a sharing campaign called "Share the Space" to remind everyone using library spaces to be mindful and courteous of others using the library. Sharing is at the heart of what we do in the library, as the collection and spaces are here for all to use. The library has a community expectations policy that includes the expectation that library users will "respect the comfort and safety of fellow library users and library staff." To ensure that everyone enjoys their library experience we ask for you to consider these key aspects when you spend time in the library:In most areas of the libraries you are welcome to bring your food and drinks with you. Feel free to grab a coffee or bring snacks for your study session. Just remember to take away any garbage with you and ensure you leave behind a clean space for the next user.
Be Careful of Strong Scents

Remembering the World Wars

• The Balfour Bugle
• The Khaki Varsity
• The Vic’s Patrol
• The Veteran

The First World War is a collection of primary source materials organized by themes of Personal Experiences, Propaganda and Recruitment, and Visual Perspectives and Narratives. Canadian content includes materials from Mills Memorial Library’s First World War Collections at McMaster University such as personal collections, albums, photographs, trench journals, sheet music, visual sources and trench maps. Also included is material from the Vera Brittain Archive, a collection of her wartime diaries and letters and a heavily annotated first version of her celebrated autobiography Testament of Youth.

The First World War collection also includes the sheet music for In Flanders’ Fields, the famous war poem written by Canadian Lieut. Col. John D. McCrae and set to music by Alfred Hiles Bergen.

World War II: U.S. Documents on Planning, Operations, Intelligence, Axis War Crimes, and Refugees features primary source materials including Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Map Room Files, Records of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Records of the War Department Operations Division, U.S. Navy Action and Operational Reports, Records of the Office of War Information, Papers of the War Refugee Board, and Top Secret Studies on U.S. Communications Intelligence during World War II. The collection includes government documents, maps, reports and memoranda reflecting Canada’s participation in the war.