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Open Access at Washington University

Information about open access publishing options and issues

WUstl Open Access Resolution

Open Access Resolution Faculty Senate adopts Open Access Resolution
WU Record, June 28, 2011

Text of WUSTL Open Access Resolution

Adopted by the Faculty Senate Council: December 21, 2010. Adopted at the Faculty Senate meeting: May 9, 2011

The Faculty of Washington University in St. Louis is committed to making its scholarship and creative works freely and easily available to the world community. Faculty members are encouraged to seek venues for their works that share this ideal. In particular, when consistent with their professional development, members of the Faculty should endeavor to: Image of a raised fist, a symbol of union and liberation, decorated with a Creative Commons logo.

This resolution applies only to scholarly articles authored or co-authored by a member of the Faculty since the adoption of this policy.

Currently, there is no systematic University-wide coordinated program to assist Faculty with managing the rights to their scholarly articles, nor is there any mechanism for facilitating the accessibility and dissemination of these works from within the University. The Faculty encourages the Offices of the Provost and the University’s Libraries to establish digital repositories and to provide author support services to aid the Faculty in providing greater access to their work. At this time and as a practical matter, this resolution covers only scholarly articles and does not extend to other forms of scholarly and creative work such as books, art, music, blogs, presentations, or curriculum materials. The Offices of the Provost and the University’s Libraries should encourage any faculty member who would be willing to join in this resolution, regardless of type of scholarly and creative work generated.