Introduction

Through the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation the Government has approved the Council of the European Union’ conclusions on scientific information in the digital age³. The conclusions deal with:

1. Reinforce national strategies and structures for access to and dissemination of scientific information 
   
   
2. Enhancing coordination between the member states of policies and practice regarding access and dissemination
   
   
3. Ensure long-term preservation of scientific information, including publications and data as well as paying due regard to scientific information in national information preservation strategies

Denmark has thereby committed herself to ensure that the Council of the European Union’ conclusions are implemented in Denmark. With a view to living up to the conclusions the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation has appointed an Open Access Committee and placed this under the steering committee for Denmark’s Electronic Research Library (DEFF).

Members of the Open Access Committee

Bo Öhrström, Deputy Director, DEFF, Danish Agency for Libraries and Media (Chairman) Birte Christensen-Dalsgaard, Deputy Director, The Royal Library Niels-Henrik Gylstorff, Head Librarian, Aalborg University Library Carsten Riis, Dean, Aarhus University, Faculty of Theology Mogens Sandfær, Director, Technical Information Centre of Denmark Grete M. Kladakis, Head of Department, Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation Anders Bjørneboe, Chief Consultant, Danish University and Property Agency Morten Rosenmeier, Chairman of the Committee for the Protection of Scientific Work Nikolaj Borg Burmeister, Chief consultant, Danish Universities (Observer) Lise Mikkelsen, Special Consultant, DEFF, Danish Agency for Libraries and Media (Secretary).

The Open Access Committee’s assignments

In the mandate⁴ for the national work with Open Access the following assignments are stated:

1. Planning the implementation of the Council of the European Union’ conclusions 
   
   
2. In connection with the planning the committee must clarify:
   
   1. How publicly funded research can be made publicly available online
   2. The economic consequences associated with this
   3. How support from Danish researchers can be secured for the implementation
   4. What kind of role the research-funding bodies should have in connection with the implementation
   5. How to allow for clarification of copyright issues 
      
3. Accomplishing the planning of the Council of the European Union’ conclusions 
   
   
4. Preparing an approach to the EU Commissioner for Research and Innovation and the EU

Commissioner for the Information Society and the Media with a request for the commissioners to work out a common European initiative in relation to the publishers about Open Access publishing.

The Open Access Committee’s approach

The Open Access Committee has based its work on the Berlin Declaration’s⁵ definition of Open Access:

“Open Access contributions must satisfy two conditions:

1. The author(s) and right holder(s) of such contributions grant(s) to all users a free, irrevocable, worldwide, right of access to, and a license to copy, use, distribute, transmit and display the work publicly and to make and distribute derivative works, in any digital medium for any responsible purpose, subject to proper attribution of authorship (community standards, will continue to provide the mechanism for enforcement of proper attribution and responsible use of the published work, as they do now), as well as the right to make small numbers of printed copies for their personal use.
   
   
2. A complete version of the work and all supplemental materials, including a copy of the permission as stated above, in an appropriate standard electronic format is deposited (and thus published) in at least one online repository using suitable technical standards (such as the Open Archive definitions) that is supported and maintained by an academic institution, scholarly society, government agency, or other well-established organization that seeks to enable open access, unrestricted distribution, inter operability, and long-term archiving.”

Open Access to scientific publications means unimpeded and gratis access (from now on termed free access) for the whole world to read and use the results, and that you will be able to store copies in repositories⁶. Free access can be created through green or golden Open Access:

(i)	“Authors can make their own peer reviewed journal articles free for all online by depositing their final revised drafts in their own institution’s OA repository or in a central OA repository immediately upon acceptance for publication. (This is also called “Green OA.”) All the costs of publication continue to be paid through institutional journal subscription fees.
(ii)	Journals can convert to the OA publication model: The journal itself makes its published articles free for all online and all publication costs are paid by the author (or the author’s institution or funder) through individual publication fees, per article published, instead of through multiple institutional subscription fees, per journal subscribed to. (This is called “Gold OA”)”.7

The Open Access Committee has prepared recommendations that use golden as well as green Open Access. However, the Committee stresses the fact that green Open Access at the moment seems to be the most practicable path as the necessary infrastructure is readily available in Denmark. At the same time 90% of the periodicals already allow the kind of parallel publishing which green Open Access represents.

Golden Open Access in greater measure presupposes that the publishers have reorganised their periodicals to the Open Access business model, and the total costs for Denmark are not increasing as a result. Today some publishers offer the authors an Open Access fee for the individual article, while at the same time the institution pays for subscribing to the identical periodical. This kind of double payment is regarded as quite unrealistic and unacceptable, which is why the publishers must be induced to convert to Open Access at a price that does not exceed the present one.

The Open Access Committee furthermore places emphasis on distinguishing between the perspectives within the field of periodicals and within the field of books. This applies particularly to the conditions and possibilities in relation to monographs in Danish. Consequently these should be subjected to an independent, focused analysis and consideration.

Whatever the method, Open Access means free access to research results, increased visibility and consequently increased possibilities for application of the research results – as opposed to the present system where access is limited to those organisations that can afford to pay for it.

Moreover, the economic consequences for the implementation of Open Access at a socio-economic level could be discussed. In 2009 DEFF arranged for a cost benefit analysis to be prepared of the economic consequences of introducing various forms for Open Access publishing in Denmark⁸. Via DEFF’s partners in Knowledge Exchange corresponding analyses have been prepared for Great Britain and the Netherlands.

The conclusion of the present report is that depending on investment the total profit of introducing Open Access globally would for Denmark be about DKK 300 mil. annually as well as considerable savings in the value chain that produces scientific articles. The savings derive from less time spent by the researchers and a more well-functioning system of research communication. The socio-economic benefit is primarily due to more institutions, businesses and citizens getting quicker and better access to research publications.

The Open Access Committee has chosen to organize its report as an implementation plan based on the Council of the European Union’ conclusions: Council Conclusions on scientific information in the digital age: access, dissemination and preservation. The implementation plan consists of a number of recommendations indicating process, actors and economy.

Some of the recommendations are of a political and strategic nature, while others are practically orientated and can contribute with new and necessary knowledge about establishing and securing free access to data and publications – also seen in a long-term perspective.

According to its mandate the Open Access Committee will subsequently, in connection with implementation of the approved plan, be obliged to follow the implementation and ensure energy and drive.