Utah State University
AC-11: Open Access to Research

Institutional Repositories (IRs) bring together all of a University's research under one umbrella, with an aim to preserve and provide access to that research.

IRs are an excellent vehicle for working papers or copies of published articles and conference papers. Presentations, senior theses, and other works not published elsewhere can also be published in the IR.

To learn more about Institutional Repositories, please visit the Digital Commons Resources page.

In harmony with the institutional mission of serving the public through learning, discovery, and engagement, Utah State University is committed to the widest dissemination of employees’ scholarly articles, including utilizing new technologies to facilitate the open sharing of their scholarly articles. Additionally, the University recognizes that United States copyright law, in conformance with its constitutional foundation, grants special and exclusive, but limited rights to authors as an incentive to create and distribute their works. These rights are limited to ensure that they do not impose an undue obstacle to education and the free exchange of ideas.

All employees during their employment with the University grant to the University a nonexclusive license to exercise any and all rights under copyright relating to each of their scholarly articles, in any medium, provided that the articles are not sold for profit, and to authorize others to do the same. These articles will also be deposited in the University’s Open Access Institutional Repository to ensure the widest possible dissemination. The nonexclusive license will be waived at the sole discretion of the author and will be administered on behalf of the Provost’s Office by the Library.
https://www.usu.edu/policies/586/

In the spirit of the Compact for Open Access Publishing (COPE), USU Libraries recognizes “the need for a stable source of funding for publishers who choose to provide open access to their journals’ contents.” To concretely support fully Open Access publishers that require a steady funding source to continue to provide their essential functions, the USU Libraries has committed to seeding a fund to underwrite the journal processing fees of USU authors who choose to publish their research articles in peer-reviewed, reputable open access journals. Only USU authors are eligible for funding. This program will be reviewed on an ongoing basis.

Award Conditions:

Application for funding must be completed at the time of submission or immediately upon an article’s acceptance for publication.
Awards are limited to $1,500 per article and are available on a first-come-first-served basis.
USU faculty and students in all disciplines are eligible to apply. In the case of an article coauthored by USU authors in collaboration with colleagues not associated with USU, the USU authors may be eligible for prorated funding of the article.
Only fully Open Access Journals will be eligible for funding. Hybrid journals are excluded.
Authors must offer a match from their department, college, or an outside granting agency (Including F&A funds). Without a match, full funding cannot be guaranteed.
In the case of PeerJ or similar membership-based fee structures, the application may only be submitted on acceptance.
Authors must deposit a copy of the funded article in the DigitalCommons@USU.
The Library may restrict individual authors to one award per year.

The Library provides journal hosting services through the institutional repository (DigitalCommons).
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/journals/