Brexit – and its potential impact for open access in the UK

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1629/uksg.336

Abstract

This article looks at the possible implications of Brexit for approaches to open access (OA) in the UK. It begins by sketching current issues in Brexit debates at the end of 2016 as the context into which discussions about open access are then placed. Issues in four thematic areas are analysed: OA policies and mandates, EU copyright reform, new OA publishing models and open science. The level of dependence in the UK on European developments is assessed in each case and its contribution to Brexit issues identified. The paper concludes that Brexit presents not only challenges, but also opportunities which the UK could seize. In open access, the UK is already playing a leadership role. In areas of open science, particularly in relation to the European Open Science Cloud, it is the European Commission which is asserting leadership. The UK needs to consolidate its current activity and ensure that, whatever the nature of Brexit arrangements, its freedom does not lead to isolation. 

Author Biography

Paul Ayris, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK

Dr Ayris was appointed Director of UCL Library Services in 1997. He is now Pro-Vice-Provost (UCL Library Services). Dr Ayris was the President of LIBER (Association of European Research Libraries) 2010-14; he is now Advisor to the LIBER Board. He is Co-Chair of the LERU (League of European Research Universities) Community of Chief Information Officers. He chairs the OAI Organizing Committee for the Cern Workshops on Innovations in Scholarly Communication. He is also the Chair of the JISC Content Strategy Group. On 1 August 2013, Dr Ayris became Chief Executive of UCL Press. He is a member of the Provost and President’s Senior Management Team in UCL. He has a Ph.D. in Ecclesiastical History and publishes on English Reformation Studies.

Downloads

Published

2017-03-10

Issue

Vol. 30 No. 1: March 2017

Section

Research Articles

Categories

License

Copyright (c) 2017 The Author(s)

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms. If a submission is rejected or withdrawn prior to publication, all rights return to the author(s):

  • Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Licence that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal. Please note if accepted for publication your work will be open access and distributed under a CC-BY Licence, unless previously agreed with Insights Editors before submission.
  • Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  • Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).

Submitting to the journal implicitly confirms that all named authors and rights holders have agreed to the above terms of publication. It is the submitting author's responsibility to ensure all authors and relevant institutional bodies have given their agreement at the point of submission.

Note: some institutions require authors to seek written approval in relation to the terms of publication. Should this be required, authors can request a separate licence agreement document from the editorial team (e.g. authors who are Crown employees).