Recommendations overview
Take a position that no new rights arise in non-original reproduction media generated around public domain works
The UK Intellectual Property Office has provided a clear legal foundation upon which TaNC’s position can be based. This will support the retroactive application of CC0 to non-original reproduction media generated around public domain works. GLAMs can voluntarily align where they have cleared and claimed rights in digital assets.
Adopt an open licensing requirement for future UK digital collections research infrastructure across TaNC, AHRC and UKRI
A requirement will support the publication of all outputs (i.e., beyond scholarly articles and monographs) created with infrastructure funding via open licences (CC BY) and public domain tools (CC0). This will support the prospective application of open access licences and tools to outputs created with infrastructure funding and reduce barriers encountered by research projects seeking to partner with GLAMs.
Expand access to funding and programmes for community support
This might be facilitated through a community partner programme that effectively expands access to funding to the UK’s small- and medium-sized GLAMs and supports open GLAM through knowledge exchange and new partnerships.
Coordinate with other key UK actors to align on open access
Coordinate with other UK funding bodies and associations such as Arts Council England and the National Museum Directors’ Council to advance open access adoption and to develop a shared strategy for long term support on copyright and open access.
Coordinate with key UK actors to develop a sustainable open access programme with a central support point
Support the rollout of open access through a centralised support point that provides capacity building tailored to projects and problem solves across the sector, and by publishing the templates and outputs produced, such as checklists, contracts and data collaboration agreements, as public resources.
Improve messaging around open access
Advocate for open access via a campaign that communicates expectations on open access, shares best practices and experiences, connects GLAMs across the sector, focuses on access and reuse (rather than new audiences) and supports navigating the necessary and important exceptions to open access publication.
New research on open access and future proofing
Dedicate resources to undertake research on open access to inform the international open GLAM movement. The UK is in a unique position in that it can design a programme that tracks data on rollout and produces cutting edge research on the benefits of open GLAM, as well as what a more nuanced and inclusive approach to open GLAM might resemble.
