York University
AC-11: Open Access to Research

1. YorkSpace is York University's Institutional Repository. It is a platform that enables York community members to organize and preserve their research online in an institutional context. It showcases the scholarship of the York University community through the use of a special standards-based software platform that collects usage statistics and provides exceptional visibility on the web.


2. Osgoode Digital Commons is the institutional repository of Osgoode Hall Law School of York University. The Commons captures, preserves and makes available to the global public the intellectual output of the law school, including faculty research, scholarship and publications; journals and research centres; selected records and archives; and digital initiatives from the Osgoode Hall Law School Library.

From the York University Open Access Policy: "Policy Statement As a publicly funded institution, York University is committed to ensuring the greatest possible scholarly and public access to the scholarship and creative works produced by the University community. In addition to securing the public benefit of such access, this policy is intended to serve the interests of researchers by promoting the greater reach and preservation of works and establishing norms and expectations around rights of authors and users in the context of rapidly changing technologies and publishing practices. The University values and protects the academic freedom of its researchers. It is not the function of this policy to alter the rights or privileges of individuals defined by collective agreements. Guidelines The Senate Policy on Open Access supports: • the development and provision of resources to help faculty members benefit from the increased visibility of their scholarship resulting from Open Access publication; • the deposit of scholarship in an open access digital repository such as YorkSpace, the University’s institutional repository or the Osgoode Digital Commons; • the researcher’s individual choice on where they can publish, alongside supporting decisions that encourage free access; and • discipline- and field-specific conventions that encourage tailored choices regarding Open Access publications. Timelines i. Peer-reviewed journal articles resulting from Tri-Agency grants must be open access within 12 months of initial publication. ii. Scholarly articles should be submitted to the repository as early as possible, ideally between the date of acceptance and the date of publication. If applicable, an embargo date can be set to meet publisher requirements. Exceptions to the Open Access Policy Exceptions to the Senate Policy on Open Access may be made for a particular work, or for a specified period of time, upon express direction in writing by an author or authors, and confirmed by the Dean of Libraries. However, the Tri-Agency Open Access Policy on Publications shall continue to hold as policy compliance is contractual upon receipt of funding."

Through use of an open access author fund, York University Libraries directs a small portion of its collections budget to cover some author processing charges (APCs) for York researchers wishing to publish in open access journals. The fund will cover Author Processing Charges (also called author’s fees or page fees) for articles published in gold open access journals that meet the following criteria: The open access journal selected for publication: a) should not charge subscription fees for any of its content. All articles published through the journal should be immediately available online at no cost to the reader. b) should not be a hybrid journal. Hybrid journals are publications under subscription control for which authors of individual articles can pay an “open choice” fee to make their papers freely available to any reader. The Libraries will not cover any “open choice” fee. c) shall not apply embargoes that limit open access to content for a specific time period after d) should provide authors the right to retain the copyright for their work. The fund aims to encourage authors to retain copyright so they can release their work under Creative Commons licensing. Please note that a copy of every funded paper will also be made available through York Space, York University's institutional repository. Learn more here: https://www.library.yorku.ca/web/research-learn/research/oapublishing/oafundrequest/

York University Libraries provide an electronic journal hosting service for York-affiliated journals. This service is called York Digital Journals (YDJ). Over 50 scholarly journals and other publications are currently hosted by the platform. Some of the YDJ hosted faculty-led journals feature the peer-reviewed work of graduate and undergraduate students. The YDJ team works with York community members to create new journals or migrate existing journals to an online environment. The libraries can provide hosting space, training documentation and troubleshooting help with the OJS software, as well as advice on dissemination and exposure.