On June 4th the University of California Library System issued a very public complaint about Nature Publishing Group‘s proposed triple-digit increase in institutional subscription costs, coupled with a threat of author and editorial boycott by faculty.

On June 24th, David Carlson, the Dean of Library Affairs at Southern Illinois University(SIU), Carbondale, and Associate Dean Connie Poole at the SIU School of Medicine, Springfield, issued a memo to their own faculty regarding the recent NPG controversy with California State University Libraries.

Here are the major recommendations to SIU faculty on the Carbondale and Springfield campuses, if you don’t have time to read the entire memo:

• Be aware of the financial value of the work you contribute when you write, review, and edit articles.
• Whenever possible, choose to publish in journals with equitable business models – open-access journals, or those with reasonably priced subscriptions.
• Assert your rights as an author. Negotiate with publishers for better control of and broader access to your published work through an author addendum such as the Scholar’s Copyright Addendum (http://scholars.sciencecommons.org/).
• Place a copy of your work in SIU’s digital repository, OpenSIUC, and encourage your colleagues to do the same. This will not only be a positive contribution, but will advance the visibility, impact, and reach of your research.
• This past year, the SIU Faculty Senate and Graduate Council endorsed a resolution for faculty to support Open Access. A second resolution called for faculty to “grant SIUC permission to make his or her scholarly journal articles… openly accessible in OpenSIUC.” Support this effort and provide your permission when you are surveyed in the Fall.