Re: Elsevier Gives Authors Green Light for Open Access Self-Archiving

From: Bob Parks <bparks_at_wueconc.wustl.edu>
Date: Tue, 8 Jun 2004 19:55:10 +0100

   [To save time and minimise misunderstanding, my reply is appended at end. SH]

---
Stevan Harnad writes:
>Elsevier has just gone from being a Romeo "Pale-Green" publisher to a full
>Romeo Green publisher: Authors have the publisher's official green light
>to self-archive both their pre-refereeing preprints and their refereed
>postprints.
The change seems to be from the restriction still found on:
<http://authors.elsevier.com/getting_published.html?dc=PRP>
     "We request that authors do not update public server versions
     of their articles to be identical to the articles as published.
     Author requests to post a published article on a public server will
     be considered by Elsevier on a case-by-case basis. Note that we
     have no other restrictions about updating public server versions,
     just that they should not be updated so as to mimic the article
     as published."
That was somewhat restrictive.  But the new wording does not seem to be
full Green - there is one request and one restriction.  The request:
      "Each posting should include the article's citation and a link to
                   ^^^^^^
      the journal's home page"
which as long as people understand it is a request and not legally binding
(because it is a request, else they would have said MUST not SHOULD).
The restriction however
    "but any other posting (e.g. to a repository elsewhere) would require
    our permission."
seems identical to the prior restriction. Hence I can post to my own
web pages, and possibly to EconWPA.wustl.edu (since it is housed by my
institution) or possibly not (because it is not my institution's archive)
but I can not post it to some other 'elsewhere' server without permission
meaning PALE GREEN.
I applaud Elsevier but IMHO the new statement is not much greener before.
I guess each baby step in the right direction is good, but honestly this
is a baby step compared to the position before which allowed preprints
without restriction or request.
----
    MODERATOR'S REPLY:
    (1) Elsevier inicated that they are in the process of revising their
    documentation. (Bob quotes the old documentation.)
    (2) Citing and linking the article is just good scholarly practise.
    (3) The restriction against 3rd party websites is to avoid sanctioning
    3rd-party cut-rate rival-publication. But OA obviates any motivation
    to do 3rd-party re-publication and OAI interoperability means it
    is sufficient to self-archive in one's own institutional archive
    and merely deposit the metadata and link in central archives, if
    one wishes.
    (4) Elsevier is a BRIGHT GREEN publisher.  -- S.H.
----
| Bob Parks                                          Voice: (314) 935-5665 |
| Department of Economics, Campus Box 1208             Fax: (314) 935-4156 |
| Washington University                                                    |
| One Brookings Drive                                                      |
| St. Louis, Missouri 63130-4899                        bob_at_parks.wustl.edu|

Received on Tue Jun 08 2004 - 19:55:10 BST