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Open Access: Green OA

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“Access without payment to a version of a publication through a repository is often called green open access.”

Accessibility, sustainability, excellence: how to expand access to research publications (The Finch Report), 2012

How can I be Green?

Open green fields

  • Authors do not have to pay any charges for 'green' open access, also known as self-archiving.

  • Many research funders, including Research England via the REF policy, mandate 'green' OA when 'gold' is unaffordable or unavailable.

  • Deposit your output in a repository which is open and searchable, with a licence which permits readers to save and/or share your work. The University of Hull institutional repository is powered by Worktribe (see Green OA at Hull).

  • Certain scholarly bodies have created their own discipline-specific repositories which are recognised by research funders and publishers as a valid alternative to institutional repositories for 'green' OA.

  • Your Agreement to Publish will outline the terms under which you can make your output open in the repository: either the published version, or your accepted manuscript  (sometimes called a 'post-print' or 'corrected proof').  For an authoritative catalogue of publisher policies,  see the SHERPA RoMEO database maintained by Jisc.

  • Your publisher may require an embargo on the repository copy for a few months after publication, and/or a licence statement which sets limits on re-use.

  • The author (or their employer/funder) may choose to add a rights retention statement to their submitted manuscript, notifying the publisher that they intend to deposit their accepted manuscript in a repository with an open licence immediately on acceptance, regardless of any terms in the agreement to publish which prohibit this.  The UK Reproducibility Network (UKRN) has published a Rights Retention Primer (April 2023) outlining the case for this approach, a recommended form of words and case studies of outcomes.

  • Sharing your output via a scholarly network such as ResearchGate, Academia.edu or LinkedIn doesn't meet the definition of 'green' open access, because these platforms don't commit to preserve the outputs or provide a stable location. Their terms of service normally hold the author liable for any breach of publisher terms.

  • How Can I Share It? has been launched by STM, a global trade association representing academic and professional publishers, to help researchers decode publisher terms and identify appropriate sharing platforms.  Find the rules that apply to your own papers (or other people's) using the Can I Share It look-up tool.

Green OA at Hull

University of Hull authors can comply with the University's Open Access Policy and any applicable funder policies by creating a record of their output in Worktribe and attaching their accepted manuscript. 

The manuscript is made OA in the University Repository as soon as the publisher's terms permit.  The Library can provide data about downloads from the Repository on request.

Each repository record has a stable url which can be used in scholarly profiles and CVs, quoted in social media and cited in further publications.

 

 

 

Library staff validate all new records in Worktribe, to manage any embargo or licence terms imposed by the publisher before the manuscript is made OA.

Worktribe can hold many different types of research output, including datasets, recordings and artworks as well as text.  More information about University of Hull researchers' options for preserving and sharing research data here. 

Other Green options

Many research institutions and societies have created their own subject-based repositories, to support open access to specialist file types using dedicated taxonomies.  Some of these have been operating for over a decade, with their own networks of advocates. Certain research funders mandate authors to deposit work in the appropriate subject-based repository as well as their institutional CRIS.

A small selection of high-profile repositories:

OpenDOAR is an international directory of open access repositories, supported by Jisc.  Search or browse by discipline for options in your field.

See the guide to OA Discovery for hints and tips about searching across multiple repositories to find OA material of interest.

The University of Hull's Hydra repository was the precursor to Worktribe for preserving digital research output, including University of Hull theses, datasets, multimedia, archival material and University records (including exam papers). Effective March 2023, Hydra has been taken permanently offline due to cybersecurity issues: much content has been moved to other open repositories, and what remains can be requested for offline use.

Who Can Help?

Staff who administer the Library's Periodicals collection can advise on the terms of the University's OA publishing agreements and the availability of financial support from research funders: periodicals@hull.ac.uk

Library staff responsible for collection management in Repository@Hull (Worktribe) can assist with record editing and file deposit:  repository@hull.ac.uk

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