Routledge trials new author rights policy for Library and Information Science Journals

Routledge, the social science and humanities imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, is pleased to announce a two-year pilot initiative for the library and information science research community, allowing contributors to its library and information science journals to retain the copyright to their work and to post it within their institutional repository without an embargo period. 

This initiative applies to any of Routledge’s 35 library and information science journals published from Taylor & Francis’ Philadelphia office. Under this scheme, an author may post the peer-reviewed version of  his or her article (although not the published pdf.) into their institutional or subject repository (although not commercial servers or  for resale) immediately following publication, so long as the original place of publication is referenced and a URL link is made to the Version of Record on Routledge’s website. To view a list of included titles please go to: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/pdf/author/lis-journals.pdf 

As the landscape of scholarly publishing evolves, Routledge is committed to exploring publishing models that suit customers’ needs. This initiative is intended to measure the financial viability of dropping the postprint embargo period and to find sustainable ways of extending author rights. The Routledge library and information science journals collection is an ideal testing ground for this pilot, due to the commitment and talent of the editors working on these titles, along with the wide interest in institutional and subject repositories among the author community in this field.   

Commenting on this initiative, Global Journals Publishing Director, Dr David Green, said, “At Routledge we publish journals that define their fields and we do this by listening and responding to our authors and editors. This same ethos exists in how we think about all stages of the journal publishing process; we have instigated this initiative in response to dialogue with authors and editors in the library and information science field. We are committed to exploring new models of making content available to the research community in ways that maintain quality and are fair to all, yet maintain sustainable and viable publications.” 

Routledge is a leading publisher of library and information science journals that cover a wide range of topics, from collection management to medical librarianship, cataloguing and more, including Cataloguing & Classification Quarterly, The Serials Librarian (incorporating the NASIG conference proceedings), Journal of Library Administration, Collection Management and over 30 other titles. 

For more information and a complete list of Routledge’s librarianship journals, visit www.tandf.co.uk/libsite