Statement against Elsevier’s sharing policy

Organizations around the world denounce Elsevier’s new policy that impedes open access and sharing

On April 30, 2015, Elsevier announced a new sharing and hosting policy for Elsevier journal articles. This policy represents a significant obstacle to the dissemination and use of research knowledge, and creates unnecessary barriers for Elsevier published authors in complying with funders’ open access policies. In addition, the policy has been adopted without any evidence that immediate sharing of articles has a negative impact on publishers subscriptions.

Despite the claim by Elsevier that the policy advances sharing, it actually does the opposite. The policy imposes unacceptably long embargo periods of up to 48 months for some journals. It also requires authors to apply a “non-commercial and no derivative works” license for each article deposited into a repository, greatly inhibiting the re-use value of these articles. Any delay in the open availability of research articles curtails scientific progress and places unnecessary constraints on delivering the benefits of research back to the public.

Furthermore, the policy applies to “all articles previously published and those published in the future” making it even more punitive for both authors and institutions. This may also lead to articles that are currently available being suddenly embargoed and inaccessible to readers.

As organizations committed to the principle that access to information advances discovery, accelerates innovation and improves education, we support the adoption of policies and practices that enable the immediate, barrier free access to and reuse of scholarly articles. This policy is in direct conflict with the global trend towards open access and serves only to dilute the benefits of openly sharing research results.

We strongly urge Elsevier to reconsider this policy and we encourage other organizations and individuals to express their opinions.

***scroll down for signing the statement***

Organisational Signatories

1. COAR: Confederation of Open Access Repositories
2. SPARC: Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition
3. ACRL: Association of College and Research Libraries
4. ALA: American Library Association
5. ARL: Association of Research Libraries
6. ASERL: Association of Southeastern Research Libraries
7. AOASG: Australian Open Access Support Group
8. IBICT: Brazilian Institute of Information in Science and Technology
9. CARL: Canadian Association of Research Libraries
10. CLACSO: Consejo Latinoamericano de Ciencias Sociales
11. COAPI: Coalition of Open Access Policy Institutions
12. Creative Commons
13. Creative Commons, USA
14. Creative Commons, Australia
15. EIFL: Electronic Information for Libraries
16. EFF: Electronic Frontier Foundation
17. GWLA: Greater Western Library Alliance
18. LIBER: European Research Library Association
19. National Science Library, Chinese Academy of Sciences
20. OpenAIRE
21. Open Data Hong Kong
22. RLUK: Research Libraries UK
23. SANLiC: South African National Licensing Consortium
24. University of St Andrews Library
25. ANKOS OAIRWG: Anatolian University libraries Consortium. OAIR working Group
26. University West, Sweden
27. DLF: Digital Library Federation, USA
28. ELibUkr, Ukraine
29. Open Access Network, USA
30. AusGOAL: Australian Governments Open Access and Licensing Programme
31. Redalyc.org, Mexico
32. National Research Foundation of South Africa
33. Open Book Publishers, United Kingdom
34. Escola Superior de Educação de Paula Frassinetti, Portugal
35. Library of the Hospital Prof. Dr. Fernando Fonseca, EPE, Lisbon, Portugal
36. SLA: Special Libraries Association
37. OhioLINK, Columbus, USA
38. Library of the Institute of Social Sciences, University of Lisbon, Portugal
39. DOAJ
40. dbv: German Library Association, Germany
41. SCONUL: Society of College, National and University Libraries, UK
42. bepress, Berkeley, USA
43. SPARC Europe
44. Paperity, Warsaw, Poland
45. University of Technology Sydney Library, Australia
46. CAUL: Council of Australian University Librarians
47. European Bureau of Library, Information and Documentation Associations (EBLIDA)
48. The Comics Grid: Journal of Comics Scholarship, London, UK
49. Indiana University of Pennsylvania, USA
50. Institutional Repositories Promotion Committee, Japan
51. University of California Libraries, USA
52. UC Berkeley Library
53. UC Davis Library
54. UC Irvine Libraries
55. UCLA Library
56. UC Merced Library
57. UC Riverside Library
58. UC San Diego Library
59. UC San Francisco Library
60. UC Santa Barbara Library
61. UC Santa Cruz Library
62. California Digital Library
63. medica spa @ cnr, Bologna, Italy
64. UNIPA – Università degli Studi di Palermo, Italy
65. Biblioteca scuola politecnica-sede architettura Università di Genova, Italy
66. Cadernos Saúde Coletiva, Spain
67. Sardegna Ricerche, Italy
68. Biblioteca di Scienze geo-ambientali e planetarie, Italy
69. SUNYLA: State University of New York Librarians Association, USA
70. Canadian Library Association
71. Carnegie Mellon University, USA
72. DPLA: Digital Public Library of America
73. UFRJ: Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
74. Orbis Cascade Alliance
75. Open Access India
76. ICSI: Information and Communication Society of India
77. SALIS: Society for the Advancement of Library and Information Science, India
78. Associação Brasileira de Saúde Coletiva, Brasil
79. FCT: Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Portugal
80. BAD – Portuguese Association of Librarians Archivists and Documentalists
81. USAIN: United States Agricultural Information Network
82. ENEA: Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development
83. EUI: European University Institute Library
84. Policy Online, Australia
85. University of Liège, Belgium
86. Universita’ di Camerino, Biblioteca di Scienze, Italy
87. ANKOS:Anatolian University Libraries Consortium, Turkey
88. Izmir Institute of Technology, Turkey
89. University of Pretoria Library Services, South Africa
90. CSIR: Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, South Africa
91. University College Cork, Ireland
92. Oberlin Group of LIbraries, USA
93. Cyprus University of Technology
94. Washington University in St. Louis Libraries
95. LIASA: Library and Information Association of South Africa
96. CONUL: Consortium of National & University Libraries, Ireland
97. Strathmore University Library, Kenya
98. COUPERIN.ORG, France
99. Pamukkale University Library Department, Turkey
100. Bitlis Eren Üniversitesi, Turkey
101. Karabuk University Library, Turkey
102. Mevlana University, Turkey
103. Adnan Menderes University, Turkey
104. Dublin Institute of Technology, Ireland
105. KCA University Library, Kenya
106. Library Association of Rijeka, Croatia
107. Iowa State University Library, USA
108. UNIVERSIDAD AUTONOMA DE SAN LUIS POTOSI, Mexico
109. University of Texas at Arlington Libraries, USA
110. LITA: Library & Information Technology Association
111. The Library of the University of Latvia
112. Inonu University, Turkey
113. CHELSA : Committee for higher education librarians of South Africa
114. TRLN: Triangle Research Libraries Network, USA
115. Duke University
116. North Carolina Central University
117. North Carolina State University
118. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
119. Florida State University Libraries, USA
120. Dept. of Information Science, University of Pretoria, South Africa
121. Library and Information Studies Centre, University of Cape Town, South Africa
122. Coimbra University Press, Portugal
123. SWALA: Swaziland Library & Information Association, Swaziland
124. TUBITAK ULAKBIM: Turkish Academic Network and Information Center
125. UCT Libraries, South Africa
126. Virginia Tech Libraries, USA
127. George Washington University Libraries
128. Metropolitan College of New York Library, USA
129. Portal de Periódicos Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Brazil
130. Digital Repository Federation, Japan
131. Bibliothèque de recherche Mathématiques et Informatique de L’Université de Bordeaux, France
132. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
133. Université Saint-Louis – Bruxelles, Belgium
134. Université de Liège, Belgium
135. Centre Spatial de Liège Université de Liège, Belgium
136. HEC-Management School University of Liege, Belgium
137. NAGPS: National Association of Graduate-Professional Students, USA
138. EMDOLA: European Master in oral laser applications, Belgium
139. Federal University of Mato Grosso, Brazil
140. Bours&Associés, Belgium
141. Centre Ginkgo, Belgium
142. Council for Finnish University Libraries
143. University of Tartu Library, Estonia
144. Rice University Library, USA
145. University of Michigan Library, USA
146. Texas A&M University, USA
147. Louisiana State University, USA
148. ALAO: Academic Library Association of Ohio, USA
149. Stony Brook University Libraries, USA
150. Herkimer College, USA
151. Wayne State University Libraries, USA
152. University of Colorado Boulder, USA
153. Temple University Libraries, USA
154. Colorado State University Libraries, USA
155. Ohio University, USA
156. Morrisville State College Library, USA
157. University of Texas Libraries, USA
158. MIT Libraries, USA
159. Western Journal of Emergency Medicine: Integrating Emergency Care with Population Health, USA
160. University of Aveiro, Portugal
161. SUNY Council of Library Directors, USA
162. IDS Project, USA
163. Karisma Foundation, Colombia
164. Thomas Jefferson University, USA
165. Fredonia, the State University of New York, USA
166. Virginia Commonwealth University Libraries, USA
167. Skidmore College, USA
168. Evans Library, Florida Institute of Technology, USA
169. Universitätsbibliothek Kaiserslautern, Germany
170. Portal de Periódicos UFSC, Brazil
171. Ontario Council of University Libraries, Canada
172. Belgian Science Policy Office
173. University of Pittsburgh, USA
174. University of Iowa Libraries, USA
175. Royal Museum for Central Africa, Belgium
176. Belgian Scientific Institute of Public Health
177. PLOS: Public Library of Science
178. Centro Brasileiro de Estudos de Saúde (Cebes), Brazil
179. Librarianship Critique journal — revista Critica Bibliotecologica, Mexico
180. Belgian Health Care Knowledge Centre (KCE)
181. Lib4RI – Library for the Research Institutes within the ETH Domain: Eawag, Empa, PSI & WSL, Switzerland
182. University of Antwerp, Library, Belgium
183. Welch Medical Library – Johns Hopkins University, USA
184. JULAC: Joint University Librarians Advisory Committee, Hong Kong
185. The Danish Research Library Director’s Conference
186. Bibliotek i Samhälle, Uppsala, Sweden
187. RCSI: Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
188. The Ohio State University Libraries, USA
189. University of Maryland Libraries, USA
190. University of Guelph, Canada
191. Vanderbilt University Libraries, USA
192. Texas Tech University Libraries, USA
193. University of Oklahoma Libraries, USA
194. University of South Carolina, USA
195. Michigan State University Libraries, USA
196. University of Minnesota Libraries, USA
197. Penn State Univ. Library, USA
198. Emory Libraries, USA
199. University of Delaware Library, USA
200. University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries, USA
201. Oklahoma State University Library, USA
202. University of Houston Libraries, USA
203. University at Albany Libraries, USA
204. University of Missouri – Columbia, USA
205. Boston College, USA
206. Tulane University, USA
207. University of Cincinnati, USA
208. University of New Mexico Libraries, USA
209. Cornell University LIbrary, USA
210. University of Tennessee Libraries, USA
211. University of Toronto Libraries, Canada
212. University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA
213. University Libraries, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA
214. University of Massachusett Amherst Libraries, USA
215. GEConseil:Géologie Environnement Conseil, France
216. Sheridan Libraries & Museums – Johns Hopkins University, USA
217. Friedheim Music Library – Johns Hopkins University, USA
218. Johns Hopkins University Libraries – Johns Hopkins University, USA
219. Dartmouth College, USA
220. University of Miami Libraries, USA
221. Case Western Reserve University, Kelvin Smith Library, USA
222. Good Ancestor Foundation, USA
223. Eliashitte Fondation pour la Recherche Biblique, Mexico
224. Alliance for Networking Visual Culture, USA
225. University of Hawaii at Mānoa Library Services, USA
226. Handchirurgie Weltweit e.V., Germany
227. Asociación Latinoamericana de Análisis Cualitativo, Argentina
228. Brain Institute, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
229. Boston University Libraries, USA
230. University of Virginia Libraries, USA
231. University of Illinois at Chicago Library, USA
232. McGill University Library, Canada
233. Mason Library, Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies — Johns Hopkins University, USA
234. University of Georgia Libraries, USA
235. Biblioteca del Instituto de Biologia UNAM, Mexico
236. M-Labs Limited, Hong Kong
237. University of Kentucky LIbraries, USA
238. University of Oregon Libraries, USA
239. ALCTS: Association for Collections and Technical Services, USA
240. CEAACP: Research Centre Archaeology, Arts and Heritage, University of Coimbra, Portugal
241. Bryn Mawr College, USA
242. Haverford College, USA
243. University of Rochester Libraries, USA
244. Open Knowledge Foundation
245. Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Brasil
246. Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech (University of Liège), Belgium
247. Universitätsbibliothek der TU München, Germany
248. CPCE Universidad Diego Portales, Chile
249. National Laboratory for Scientific Computing – LNCC, Brasil
250. Centre for Social Economy, University of Liege, Belgium
251. Universidad de Granada. Biblioteca, Spain
252. Sciences Po Library, France
253. Bibliothèque Médiathèque de Pully, Switzerland
254. ADBU: Association des Directeurs et des Personnels de Direction des Bibliothèques Universitaires et de la Documentation, France
255. University of Kansas Libraries, USA
256. REBIUN: Spanish Network of University Libraries
257. University of Ottawa Library, Canada
258. Dentistry Student Scientific Community, Indonesia
259. Câmara Municipal de Vila Nova de Poiarss, Portugal
260. LA Referencia
261. ASES Association des Sociologues Enseignants du Supérieur, France
262. Canadian Research Knowledge Network
263. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library, USA
264. CNFG: Comité National Français de Géographie, France
265. Fundación Index, Spain
266. University of Arizona Libraries, USA
267. University of Tehran, Digital Preservation Lab, Iran
268. University of the Witwatersrand Libraries, South Africa
269. University of British Columbia Library, Canada
270. University of Minho, Portugal
271. DEFF: Denmark’s Electronic Research Library
272. Biblioteca de la Universidad de Sevilla, Spain
273. VU University Library, Netherlands
274. Manipal University, India
275. McMaster University Library, Canada
276. Universidad de Costa Rica
277. Consorcio Madroño
278. Singapore Management University

View Individual Signatories <https://www.coar-repositories.org/files/Elsevier-Statement-Signatories23.pdf>

The list of signatories is updated several times per week.

Sign on to the statement: <https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1LH0uJbtujsISyo0rk0hmDLDm3vuqXVLhWjTIOindw-Q/viewform?embedded=true>

Fuente: <https://www.coar-repositories.org/>