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SEPM OA FAQ

SEPM Open Access FAQ - 2013

SEPM Society for Sedimentary Geology’s Open Access policy was established by the SEPM Council in August, 2013. Authors submitting manuscripts for publication in online journals and books have the option to make their published article fully Open Access (commonly called ‘Gold Open Access’) on payment of a fee (Article Processing Fee or APC).

Open Access articles are published online in the usual way, but are made freely available to any user and have different terms and conditions of use than other articles at SEPM Online (www.sepmonline.org)

How can I tell if an article is Open Access?

Open Access articles have an Open Access logo by the article in the online table of contents and on the first page of the article. Such articles are subject to the Creative Commons CC-BY license. (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/)

SEPM Online also includes free access to some articles without the Open Access logo (for example, the introductory chapters of books or some older publications). Those articles can be accessed by all, but the regular copyright terms and conditions of use apply (https://www.sepm.org/Permission)

What can I do with an Open Access article?

SEPM Open Access articles are published under the Creative Commons CC-BY License. This license lets others distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon the work, even commercially, as long as they credit the author for the original creation and do not put restrictions on the OA content. This license allows maximum dissemination and use of licensed materials.

Authors are still bound by the Society’s code of publishing ethics. The Creative Commons license is does not give anyone permission to create duplicate publications based on OA content.

Is the Society now charging twice for Open Access articles?

There is some concern that publishers will ‘double-dip’ by charging both authors and readers via access subscriptions. However, that will not be the case for the Society. However, since for now, SEPM publications will likely contain both Gold OA content and non-OA content (hybrid publications) and since the amount of content in any given year is not possible to calculate before subscriptions are priced out, a discount will be given on renewals for any SEPM publication subscription for the next year. This will include a discount proportional to the amount of OA content included in that publication the previous 12 months.

How much does it cost?

For 2013 and until it may be changed, the charge for Gold Open Access Article Processing Charge is set at $2700. A discount is available to SEPM Members (as first authors) publishing in SEPM publications of $200. No other discounts are available at this time.

Authors who select this option will need to complete a payment authorization form after their article is accepted and they will be sent an invoice shortly after SEPM starts preparing their article for publication. An author’s intention to pay the open access fee will have no effect on the peer review process and acceptability of a manuscript.

What content is eligible?

Any content that is to be published online at SEPM Online will be eligible. If the Society publishes a book that is available in print or CD only, then Open Access publishing will not be available for those titles.

How do I select this option?

There will be a section in the online submission form allowing authors to choose Open Access. Until that option is made part of the automated online submission, please contact the journal or book managing editors (JSR-Melissa Lester; PALAIOS – Kathleen Huber; Special Publications – Michele Tomlinson)

Will paying for Open Access make any difference to the review process or publication time?

No. All manuscripts will go through the usual peer-review and production process in the same way as other articles. Associated editors and reviewers will not know if you will be publishing it as OA. No preferential treatment will be offered, other than the free access and use of the published article.

Will the SEPM Open Access policy comply with funding requirements?

As the Society uses the most liberal of the Creative Commons licenses, its Open Access policy should satisfy most research-funding bodies who require research that they fund to be Open Access. But it is up to the author to determine what the funding agency requires and if SEPM OA fulfills the requirements.

If you are required to make your research Open Access, but do not have funds, the Society’s will allow you to post your final accepted manuscript online, which complies with many funding agencies ‘Green Open Access’ criteria, but it will not be the final formatted and published version nor will it be “free” on the SEPM journal web pages.

Can I use material from elsewhere in my Open Access article?

Authors should check that any material that was not created by them, but that they use in their article, is used with full permission of the copyright holder or licensee to publish under the CC-BY license. Some picture libraries, commercial publishers and other copyright holders have permission policies against OA republication, especially with commercial reuse permitted. You may not use such content in an SEPM Open Access article. All material in the article must be compliant with the CC-BY license. This is an author’s responsibility and SEPM will not take any responsibility in this area

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