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I just mailed the January 2010 issue of the SPARC Open Access Newsletter.  This issue takes a close look at the progress of OA in 2009.  The roundup section briefly notes 118 OA developments from December.

Dublin Institute of Technology has adopted an OA mandate:

Academic staff, research assistants, research students and other members of the Institute are entitled and required to deposit digital copies of refereed and other research publications and documents. ...

Exceptionally, material that is to be commercialised, or which can be regarded as confidential, or the publication of which would infringe a legal commitment of the Institute and/or the author, is exempt from inclusion in the repository.

Uploading of items into [the IR] is the responsibility of authors and researchers. It is desirable that items be self-archived. However, this task may be delegated to others or to Library Services.

All deposits of journal articles must comply with Publishers’ policies. ...

The University of Abertay Dundee has adopted an OA mandate:

It is the University’s policy to establish a comprehensive database of research outputs, recording bibliographic information and, where permissible under publishers' copyright policies, providing access to the full text of published research produced by University staff and research students.

The University therefore requires that all staff and research students submit the following to the repository:

• Full text electronic copies and bibliographic details of peer-reviewed research published from 1 January 2010.
• Bibliographic details (including abstracts, where available) of peer-reviewed research published between 1 January 2001 and 31 December 2009.

and that:

• The electronic version of theses accepted for research degrees after 10th July 2009 will be deposited in the repository on behalf of the students. ...

The Learning and Technology World Forum is an internationally recognised leadership forum for sharing best and debating future practice in education and skills. It attracts participation from across the world.The 2009 event was attended by over 750 leaders from 70 countries. A selection of the forum's key highlights are available to view.London, UK

The ict@innovation programme builds capacities in African small and medium ICT enterprises to make a business with Free and Open Source Software (FOSS). ict@innovation aims to encourage the growth of African ICT industries, particularly in Southern and East Africa, through three main actions: spreading FOSS business models for enterprises in Africa, fostering FOSS certification and supporting innovative local FOSS applications for social and economic development. ict@innovation is a partnership

Last year, Finland's 26 universities of Applied Sciences launched a consortial OA repository (Theseus.fi) and in October they adopted a joint OA mandate.  Excerpt:

After 1 January 2010, the Universities of Applied Sciences will require all teachers and researchers who work at the universities to save a copy of their research essays that are published in scientific publications, or a university publication series, in the open electronic library, Theseus....

Comments

• This is, by far, the largest set of institutions to adopt a joint OA mandate.  Kudos to the Rectors' Conference of Finnish Universities of Applied Sciences (ARENE ry) for making it happen. 
• The Theseus deposit system automatically offers authors the option to attach CC licenses.
• Thanks to Herkko Hietanen and Anna-Kaisa Sjölund for the alert.

Update.  Although there are 28 members of ARENE ry, only 26 participate in Theseus, and only 26 have adopted the OA mandate.  The 26 with mandates are those governed by the Finnish Ministry of Education.  One institution, the police academy at Tampere, is governed by the Ministry of Interior, and one, the Åland University of Applied Sciences, is in Mariehamn, an autonomous territory.  (Thanks to Anna-Kaisa Sjölund for these details.) 

Columbia University Commits to Open-Access Publication Compact, press release, December 11, 2009.

Columbia University has joined several leading institutions of higher learning in a commitment to a Compact for Open-Access Publishing Equity. Other signatories to the compact are Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the University of California at Berkeley.

The compact commits signatories to the timely establishment of mechanisms for underwriting reasonable publication fees for open access journal articles authored by researchers without alternative funding. The effort around the compact arose as a result of discussions within the university community about providing sustainable, efficient, and effective business models for journal publishing. "The growth of this new strategy for support for high quality scholarly communication in the expanding number of open access journals requires our participation and support," said Jim Neal, Columbia’s Vice President for Information Services and University Librarian. ...

Following from the compact commitment, Columbia University Libraries/Information Services is establishing a fund to help support Columbia faculty, staff, and students who wish to publish in OA journals. The Libraries are currently formulating policy and eligibility requirements for the fund, which will be administered by the Scholarly Communication Program, based at the Center for Digital Research and Scholarship (CDRS). ...

See also our past post on Columbia joining COPE.

The Obama administration is calling for public comments on ways to enhance access to federally-funded research.  From today's announcement:

With this notice, the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) within the Executive Office of the President, requests input from the community regarding enhancing public access to archived publications resulting from research funded by Federal science and technology agencies. This RFI [Request for Information] will be active from December 10, 2009 to January 7, 2010. Respondents are invited to respond online via the Public Access Policy Forum...or may submit responses via electronic mail. Responses will be re-posted on the online forum. Instructions and a timetable for daily blog topics during this period are described at [the White House Open Government Initiative web site]....

[T]he Administration is dedicated to maximizing the return on Federal investments made in R&D. Consistent with this policy, the Administration is exploring ways to leverage Federal investments to increase access to information that promises to stimulate scientific and technological innovation and competitiveness. The results of government-funded research can take many forms, including data sets, technical reports, and peer-reviewed scholarly publications, among others. This RFI focuses on approaches that would enhance the public's access to scholarly publications resulting from research conducted by employees of a Federal agency or from research funded by a Federal agency....

The Executive Branch is considering ways to enhance public access to peer reviewed papers arising from all federal science and technology agencies. One potential model, implemented by the National Institutes of Health (NIH)...requires that all investigators funded by the NIH submit an electronic version of their final, peer-reviewed manuscript upon acceptance for publication no later than 12 months after the official date of publication. Articles collected under the NIH Public Access Policy are archived in PubMed Central and linked to related scientific information contained in other NIH databases....

The NIH model has a variety of features that can be evaluated, and there are other ways to offer the public enhanced access to peer- reviewed scholarly publications. The best models may [be] influenced by agency mission, the culture and rate of scientific development of the discipline, funding to develop archival capabilities, and research funding mechanisms....

Input is welcome on any aspect of expanding public access to peer reviewed publications arising from federal research. Questions that individuals may wish to address include, but are not limited to, the following (please respond to questions individually)....[PS: Here omitting the nine questions; but anyone submitting a comment should read and address them.]

Comments

• This is big.  We already have important momentum in Congress for FRPAA.  The question here is about separate action from the White House.  What OA policies should President Obama direct funding agencies to adopt?  This is the first major opening to supplement legislative action with executive action to advance public access to publicly-funded research.  It's also the first explicit sign that President Obama supports the OA policy at the NIH and wants something similar at other federal agencies.
• Don't forget that FRPAA has to stand in line behind healthcare reform, financial regulation, and climate change.  This is the perfect time to open a new front from the executive branch.  Also don't forget that the federal funding agencies belong to the executive branch and are subject to executive order.
• Comments are due January 7.  Please write one and spread the word, not necessarily in that order.  As far as I can tell, comments from non-citizens addressing the nine questions are as welcome as comments from US citizens. 
• You can be sure that the publishing lobby will be writing comments.  It's vital that the research community be heard as well, loud and clear.

Update.  For those who want to post their comment(s) to the forum (rather than by email), and/or follow the discussion at the forum, the discussion has begun at the OSTP blog.

The PanAfrican Research Agenda on the Pedagogical Integration of Information and Communication Technologies (Phase 2, 2009-2011) lead researchers’ meeting is scheduled to take place in Dakar, Senegal on the 8th of December 2009. This event will introduce lead researchers and the scientific committee the project activities for the 2009-2011 period. Lead researchers will be from the 12 participating countries (Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo Brazzaville, Côte D’Ivoire, Tunisia, Ghana, Ke

La réunion des chercheurs principaux de l’Agenda panafricain de recherche sur l’intégration pédagogique des TIC (Phase II, 2009-2011) aura lieu à Dakar, au Sénégal le 8 Décembre 2009. Cette rencontre sera l'occasion pour réunir les chercheurs principaux et le comité scientifique pour discuter des activités du projet pour la période 2009-2011. Les chercheurs principaux proviendront de 12 pays (Cameroun, République centrafricaine, Congo Brazzaville, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, S

University of Ottawa among North American leaders as it launches open access program, press release, December 8, 2009.

The University of Ottawa is the first Canadian university to adopt a comprehensive open access program that supports free and unrestricted access to scholarly research.

The University’s new program includes:

• a commitment to make the University’s scholarly publications available online at no charge through the University’s repository, uO Research;
• an author fund to help researchers defray open access fees charged by publishers;
• a fund to support the creation of digital educational materials organized as courses and available to everyone online at no charge ;
• support for the University of Ottawa Press’s commitment to publishing a collection of open access books; and
• a research grant to support further research on the open access movement.

The University of Ottawa also becomes the first Canadian university to join the Compact for Open-Access Publishing Equity (COPE) ...

For more information on the University of Ottawa’s open access program, visit [ink].

Comments.

• Although Michael Geist describes the strategy as including a mandate, it doesn't appear to. The plan doesn't seem to mention either a commitment/obligation to self-archive or a university-wide license. (If I'm wrong, please let me know.)
• The implementation of the COPE fund differs from those of Harvard, etc.: most notably, it allows funds to be used for hybrid OA journals.

ALISON, the world’s leading free learning for the workplace website launched its new-look website today. The website includes many new social networking features, faster registration, a more intuitive study area and new free tools to make learning, teaching or training on ALISON an even better experience than before. Galway, Ireland – December 8th 2009 ALISON launched a new version of its website today that will enrich the learning experience of learners in every country worldwide. Many of the

Four years ago, Nicholas Negroponte introduced the world to the “One Laptop Per Child” idea at WSIS by showing off a “$100 laptop” with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. The educational and technology fields haven’t been the same since.OLPC has impact deeper and farther than just XO’s passed out or netbooks snapped up. Its changing education, technology, even culture in ways beyond any one person’s understanding. So this month’s Educational Technology Debate will try to capture what we have learn

I just mailed the December 2009 issue of the SPARC Open Access Newsletter.  This issue takes a close look at the OA implications of the amended version of the Google book settlement.  The roundup section briefly notes 150 OA developments from November.

This booklet has been developed to provide parents with information on how technology can help them keep in touch with their child's school. And most importantly, how this will help to support their child's learning.(Source:Becta,2009)

David Wiley, Two Units in BYU Adopt Open Access Policies, iterating toward openness , November 23, 2009.

Two units at Brigham Young University have adopted open access policies – both the Harold B. Lee Library faculty and the faculty in my own department, Instructional Psychology and Technology, voted to adopt the policies earlier this month. IP&T’s policy was based on the HBLL policy, which was based on existing OA policies at other universities. ...

For those who are interested, here’s the text of the IP&T policy:

... Each Instructional Psychology and Technology Department faculty member grants to Brigham Young University permission to make scholarly articles to which he or she has made substantial intellectual contributions publicly available as part of the Harold B. Lee Library’s ScholarsArchive system, or its successor ...

The term “scholarly articles” includes articles prepared for presentation or publication, whether in electronic or print media. ...

The IP&T Department Chair or the Chair’s designate shall waive application of the policy to a particular article upon written request by a Faculty member explaining the need. The IP&T Chair, in consultation with the faculty, will be responsible for interpreting this policy, resolving disputes concerning its interpretation and application, and recommending changes to the faculty. This policy will be formally reviewed two years after implementation, by September 30, 2011.

As of the date of publication, each faculty member will make available an electronic copy of his or her final version of the article at no charge to a designated representative of the University Librarian’s Office in appropriate formats (such as PDF) specified by the University Librarian’s Office.

See also: Peter included BYU in his January newsletter's list of "mandate proposals known to be under discussion".

If all ICT evaluations in primary schools are by their very nature, biased and inaccurate, and we already know that computers have benefits,a nd therefore computers in classrooms can be advantageous for students, what are we waiting for? & nbsp; That's the opinion in the latest Educational Technology Debate, an initiative of the World Bank and Unesco. & nbsp; Read the detail here: & nbsp; & nbsp; Stop Wasting Children with ICT4E AssessmentsPersonally, I find the leap a little too far. & nbsp; No matter ho

In this paper, the authors discuss the role of information and communication technologies for skill upgradation. They also discuss on integrating ICT education at various levels of learning.

Oberlin College Faculty Unanimously Endorses Open Access, press release, November 20, 2009.

The Oberlin College General Faculty unanimously endorsed on November 18 a resolution to make their scholarly articles openly accessible on the Internet. As a result of the measure, the rich scholarly output of the Oberlin faculty will become available to a much broader national and international audience. The Oberlin resolution is similar to policies passed at Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Kansas, and Trinity University. ...

Under the new policy, Oberlin faculty and professional staff will make their peer-reviewed, scholarly articles openly accessible in a digital archive managed by the Oberlin College Library as part of the OhioLINK Digital Resource Commons. Oberlin authors may opt out of the policy for a specific article if they are not in a position to sign journal publishing agreements that are compatible with the policy, or for other reasons. The resolution also creates an institutional license that gives Oberlin College the legal right to make the articles accessible on the Internet through the digital archive. The resolution further encourages, but does not require, authors to submit publications other than peer-reviewed articles in the same manner. ...

Adopted at the recommendation of the General Faculty Library Committee, the policy calls for the committee, in consultation with a faculty council, to establish procedures for carrying out the policy and to monitor its implementation. Policy implementation will be coordinated by a scholarly communications officer, a member of the library staff designated by the director of libraries. ...

The Oberlin College Student Senate recently endorsed the national “Student Statement on the Right to Research,” which expresses a similar commitment to making scholarly research information openly accessible.

Google and the plaintiffs in the Google Book settlement released their revised settlement on November 13; see the proposed Supplemental Notice. The change most directly related to OA is this:

... The Amended Settlement provides that the Registry will facilitate Rightsholders’ wishes to allow their works to be made available through alternative licenses for Consumer Purchase, including through a Creative Commons license. ... The Amended Settlement also clarifies that Rightsholders are free to set the Consumer Purchase price of their Books at zero. ...

Some other changes also may be of interest:

• Rightsholders can negotiate with Google to change the restrictions on their included works (e.g. to remove the DRM).
• The Book Rights Registry can allow more than one free terminal per public library building.

Also of note is that many international books will be excluded. Whereas the original settlement included any books under copyright in the U.S. (effectively, any book published anywhere in the world), the amended settlement only includes books published in the U.S., UK, Canada or Australia, or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office.

The revised settlement also establishes an independent fiduciary agent to manage unclaimed works (where no rightsholder has stepped forward to manage the options under the settlement and claim payments). The Unclaimed Works Fiduciary is meant to act as a proxy for absentee rightsholders, but it doesn't have all the abilities of an actual rightsholder. Instead, the revised settlement enumerates some specific abilities for the Unclaimed Works Fiduciary, and provides that the fiduciary also can act "otherwise as the Board of Directors of the Registry deems appropriate".

The abilities enumerated seem to not include the options to set the price at zero, apply a CC license, or remove DRM restrictions. In other words, the Unclaimed Works Fiduciary apparently does not have the ability to make orphan works OA without the agreement of the Registry board (which is composed of publisher and author representatives). I've put in a question to the parties' press contacts to confirm or clarify this.

The plaintiffs' memo proposes a 45-day period for class members to respond, with an extra week for the U.S. Department of Justice, and the final fairness hearing two weeks subsequent. (That schedule would start after the judge grants preliminary approval to the revised settlement, which hasn't happened yet.)

See also: For more information, including the many aspects to the amended settlement which aren't discussed here, see the oa.google.settlement tag on the Open Access Tracking Project.