Partnering on Copyright

Below are some examples of advocacy methods and materials which can be used in an advocacy initiative, and how to choose the right ones according to the advocacy strategy to be used.

Presentations

Presentations may be given by library/IR representatives to academics,and also to HEI library staff and senior management. These can be presented at various meetings, such as at Faculty boards and other senior committees, departmental seminars, and IR advocacy and launch events. It may be more effective to have separate presentations for academics, library staff and senior management.

At presentations and meetings there is a chance for feedback from stakeholder groups and question and answer sessions. These can provide invaluable information to help improve the promotion efforts of the repository staff, and develop the repository service overall. Indeed, at the Oxford University Oxford Eprints service the FAQs were collected during presentations given to a number of librarians and academics.

E-Print Repository Web Site

Web sites are a major advocacy tool, providing all stakeholders with clear, up-to-date information on OA in general and the HEI's IR service in particular. It also allows easy access to the relevant resources. However, the effectiveness of the web site is, of course, dependent on its design, navigation and contents.

Contents should include:

• An introduction to the eprint service;
• Explaining Open Access and self-archiving, including FAQs;
• Deposit procedures
• User guidelines
• Copyright information
• Link to the IR service search page
• Service administrator contact details.

Direct e-mails

E-mails may be used as an effective communication method in a number of ways.

At the White Rose ePrints Repository a monthly e-mail update has been introduced for all authors with articles in the repository. It contains news items or updates about the White Rose repository and any national or international developments of particular relevance.

‘Champions’ may be identified by using an ‘opt-in’ email, as used by the White Rose Consortium, whereby interested academics can simply reply to an email with information on where a list of their publications can be found (e.g., their own web site, local publications database, attached file, etc.) and to request that copyright checking is undertaken on their behalf. This produced good results. For more information on ‘champions’ see How To Identify 'Champions’.

Direct phone calls

The London School of Economics (LSE) Research Articles Online has collected many papers for their IR by phoning up academics and asking whether they may have their personal copies of articles previously identified as having been published in a journal which allows self-archiving. The SHERPA/RoMEO database of publishers' self-archiving policies was used for this purpose. The response has been positive. Firstly, members of the School’s Research Committee (i.e., a top-down approach) were targeted. Others were then identified via the LSE publications database, and by searching the Web of Science and the Berkely Electronic Press (“bepress”). The IR administrator has produced a copy of a typical telephone call script, which may be used as a starting point, though this is not available to the public.

Articles published in newsletters

Articles about the institutional repository may be published in a university and/or library information sheet/newsletter to be distributed to both staff and students. Such articles can include what an IR is, its benefits to the particular HEI and its URL. They could also cover any advocacy events or official launches which are to be, or have been, held.

At LSE, a short piece on the IR, entitled 'LSE Creates Online Repository For Research', was included in a recent library newsletter (summer term 2005). At the University of Bristol a short article was written on its Bristol Repository of Scholarly Eprints (ROSE) for the University News, which is the University staff and student newsletter (June 2005 Issue 38, p.12). Its URL features prominently in the middle of the article.

Informative leaflet/flyer

The production of a leaflet/flyer for all those of the HEI can raise the profile of, and promote, the IR project. Examples of leaflets/flyers include that of the White Rose ePrints Repository and that of the University of Glasgow ePrints service.

Leaflets/flyers may contain an introduction to the concept of OA and self-archiving, its benefits, information on the IR, checking copyright and contact details for those who are interested and want to find out more.

Advocacy events, including official launches of the service

Advocacy events can include presentations given by guest speakers and a question and answer session. Separate advocacy events, for academic staff, HEI senior management and library staff, may also be organised. One example of such an event was the University of Glasgow official eprint service launch, which was a campus-wide event with external speakers.

Training/Demonstrations on how to use the eprints service

IR administrators can offer training and/or give demonstrations to various stakeholder groups on how the repository would work. This could also be integrated into any advocacy events and presentations. Such demonstrations would help show that self-archiving is not beyond academics. Here it is important, as with all training, not to have too many people in a group. It may be worthwhile, especially in the beginning, to provide one-to-one demonstrations. If the HEI does not have its own IR then the demonstration software Demonstration EPrints Repository is available. In all circumstances, academics should be made aware of where to get further help and advice if needed.

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Choosing The Right Advocacy Methods and Materials

The choice of advocacy methods and materials described above depends on who is being targeted and what resources are available. One choice to make is whether to aim the advocacy initiative at a large general group of people, or at a select group of people, i.e., is the advocacy campaign to be blanket or targeted?.

Blanket and Targeted Advocacy

Advocacy can take the form of general blanket/mass communication through media, such as newsletters and Web sites and targeted/personal communication, either individually or in a group.

• Blanket/mass Advocacy

This approach has the advantage of allowing a general OA message to be received by a bigger and more diverse group of people. The message can also be targeted to some, though lesser, extent to specific groups, such as senior managers and academics. This form of advocacy is less likely to involve face-to-face communication between individuals.

Examples of blanket advocacy activities include:

• Press releases – both internal and external
• Brochures, posters, fliers;
• A Web site;
• Taking advantage of University-wide events, such as technology fairs, faculty orientation;
• Presentations to various stakeholder groups;
• Announcements on group email lists;
• Organise events around issues, such as copyright and digital preservation.

(This list is taken and adapted from the DSpace Marketing and Policy Planning PowerPoint presentation.)

• Targeted/personal advocacy

This approach has the advantage of allowing the message to be specifically tailored to the individual or group and is often carried out face-to-face, thereby giving stakeholders the opportunity to ask questions important to them. It also provides the IR administrator with an opportunity to listen (and be seen to be listening) to their needs and experiences and so be able to take these into account when setting up and running the IR.

Examples of targeted advocacy activities include:

• Presentations to specific groups, such as academics of a particular department. (Subject librarians will be of great help with this.);
• Personal communication to target groups, through such means as letters, e-mails and phone calls;
• Brochures, flyers, posters, articles, targeted to specific groups; and
• Follow-up communications on a regular basis.

(These also taken and adapted from the DSpace Marketing and Policy Planning PowerPoint presentation.)

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