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    Open Values Statement

    Open Values

    At Rowan University Libraries (RUL), we support open principles and practices in the creation, dissemination, and access to research, scholarship, and creative works. Whenever possible, RUL believes in removing barriers to the creation, sharing, and access to knowledge and information. Our support for open access is rooted in our commitment to:

    • Increase the visibility and impact of Rowan University research on a national and global scale
    • Facilitate equitable access to scholarly materials for the betterment of society
    • Enable interdisciplinary research collaboration via open scholarship and open infrastructure
    • Create opportunities for innovative scholarship through open sharing and reuse of research outputs
    • Facilitate making publicly funded research openly available to all

    What is Open Access?

    The Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) defines open access as “the free, immediate, online availability of research articles combined with the rights to use these articles fully in the digital environment.” RUL supports Rowan authors in making their work openly available via the gold or green open access routes.

    Rowan University Libraries strive to leverage their position as part of a growing university and a research institution to contribute to and shape the future of open access by providing:

    • Individual Support – Librarians can help researchers navigate author rights and open access funding agency requirements, help assign Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) to scholarly publications and research objects, aid in identifying reputable open access journals and avoiding predatory journals (Selecting a Journal - Getting Published - Rowan Medical Libraries Guides at Rowan University), and assist in depositing a researcher’s work in the institutional repository (Rowan Digital Works) or in discipline-specific repositories.
    • Rowan University Library Negotiated Read & Publish Agreements
    • Funding for Open Access Publishing - All current Rowan faculty and staff on all Rowan University campuses may apply for funding via the Libraries’ Open Access Publishing Fund when publishing in a gold open access journal. More information about the policy and eligibility criteria can be found at: Open Access Publishing Fund - Researcher Support Services - Research Guides at Rowan University
    • Open Access Publishing Fund - Tenure-track and tenured faculty at the Glassboro campus may apply to the Open Access Publishing Fund when publishing in a gold open access journal. More information about the policy and eligibility criteria can be found at https://rdw.rowan.edu/oa_pubfund/
    • Self-Archiving Support – Rowan University Libraries provide our community with access to our institutional repository, Rowan Digital Works, an open access platform to disseminate the research, scholarship, and creative works created by Rowan researchers. This platform hosts Rowan student theses & dissertations and other student scholarship, as well as conference proceedings, datasets, videos, and more.
    • Library-Based Publishing – Rowan Digital Works also offers a platform to host and publish diamond open access journals.Diamond open access means these journals are funded via Rowan University and are freely available to readers without any subscription fees. Additionally, authors retain copyright and are not required to pay article processing charges (APCs). This service reflects RUL's commitment to supporting faculty and student publishing and fostering greater global access to knowledge.
    • Training and Education – Through individual consultation, outreach, and workshops, librarians generate awareness of the benefits of OA and assist researchers in navigating Open Access Publishing opportunities, to ultimately benefit the communities they serve.
    • Institutional Memberships – We have secured institutional memberships with open access publishers and organizations that advocate, develop, and advance open access and open infrastructure. Rowan University Libraries’ current “open” commitments include:

    We acknowledge that the open ecosystem is evolving, and experimentation is necessary in order for libraries, publishers, and our communities to find sustainable models for open research. We welcome your feedback and suggestions on how we can enhance or improve our commitment to open access and support your open access needs better.

    Contact info:

    Rowan University Libraries Researcher Support Services: rss@rowan.edu