Making an (im)PACT on Scholarly Publication at UMD

Abstract

Researchers at the University of Maryland (UMD) provide cutting edge solutions to problems on a variety of topics. However, the current state of scholarly publishing has made it challenging to make that research accessible, and licensing resources where research is published has become increasingly complex. To address these issues, in spring 2020, the Publishing, Access, and Contract Terms (UMD PACT) working group was formed. A subgroup of the University Library Council (ULC) and sponsored jointly by the ULC, the Office of the Provost, Faculty Affairs, and the Division of Research, UMD PACT is a cross-divisional group charged with developing and enacting a new rights-retention, open access licensing policy based on the Harvard University model to support and encourage sustainable open access of faculty research. This paper provides background on how and why PACT was formed, its membership and timeline, its work to craft and adopt licensing principles and a new framework for licensing of scholarly content for UMD researchers and communicate these changes with campus researchers.