SPARC guide explores OA funds

SPARC (the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition) has released a guide and supporting web resource exploring campus-based open-access (OA) publishing funds.

OA funds address article-processing fees that may be associated with publishing in an OA journal or as an OA article in a hybrid journal.

Authored by SPARC Consultant Greg Tananbaum, the guide and web resource survey the current North American landscape of open-access (OA) funds and explore key emerging questions on how such funds are considered and developed on college and university campuses.

The guide aims to inform libraries, authors, administrators and interested others on the practical considerations surrounding open-access funds. The site is said to feature up-to-date information on:active open-access funds; FAQ for authors, administrators, and publishers; considerations in evaluating the launch of a fund; key policy decisions; implementation tools; resource allocation;and fund promotion and reporting. Readers are also invited to contribute their experiences through the online commenting and discussion features that are available.