Putting Open Access-

-into Interlibrary Loan-

​

New Tools and Ideas�

Joe Mcarthur - @mcarthur_joe

Joe@openaccessbutton.org

Director, Open Access Button.

Assistant Director, Right to Research Coalition.

SPARC

We urgently need trusted � knowledge that’s fairly owned, � created, and read. 

Libraries, and Open information,� are at the heart of solving that challenge.

We believe the power and ubiquity of ILL systems and staff can be leveraged to dramatically accelerate the awareness, use, and creation of Open Access, all while driving down costs and helping improve the service.

Free, immediate online access

to scientific & scholarly articles

with full reuse rights

The Open Access Button supports by creating a family of free, community-owned, open source tools built not-for-profit, but for-change. ��Our tools make it simpler to do research without subscriptions.

About me

Me:

• Started Open Access Button as a student frustrated by paywalls almost 5 years ago.
• Co-founder, Director of the Open Access Button.
• Assistant Director of Right to Research Coalition.
• Organizer for OpenCon & Open Access Week.
• Work for SPARC on a variety of projects.
• <3 bad jokes, I’m sorry.

In this talk

• Why we’re here today
• How we use Open Access to provide access without subscriptions
• How ILL can harness Open Access
• What tools are coming, and what you can use today

Get the slides

openaccessbutton.org/odense

​

Get the handout

Thank you to...

• Our funders, including Jisc, OSF, COS and individual donors
• SPARC (for incubation)
• Krystie at Bates University, Sarah at Centennial College, and many at Trinity & EIFL for help with EmbedOA
• Renee at University of Virginia, Chris at Huddersfield, and Kenny at York for help with DeliverOA
• Imperial College London for the inspiration and our case study institutions
• Libraries around the world who have given comments & taken my calls
• Cottage Labs (our developers)

How do we provide access  � without subscriptions? 

We make free, fast, legal tools and services that take you from a paywall to a free alternative in one click. If we can’t, we’ll try and make the article open access for you.

About the content we find

• Also known as “green Open Access”, author uploaded manuscripts or self-archived Open Access. Usually found in repositories.
• Articles in repositories are often extremely similar to their journal equivalents.
• We find “hybrid” articles (free articles in paid-for journals)
• Self-archived versions can be hard to find, we make it easy.
• We find articles from 5000+ repositories & “hybrid” articles.
• We don’t use Researchgate & Academia.edu

​

Using the Open Access Button

Click here on any scholarly article.�

We will either take you to an Open Access version, or start a request to an author for you in a single click.

​

Free to use at OpenAccessButton.org

​

Open Access Button:�Article Available

• Click on any article, or put a url, doi or title into the homepage search box.
• Available for all major browsers. Use from the homepage or download the plugin in a click.
• Doesn’t use Researchgate & Academia.edu

Open Access Button:�Article Not Available

• When an article is unavailable, you’re automatically invited to request it from and author.
• All you do is say why you want the article and sign in
• You’ll get email updates on the progress of your request.
• If the author shares it with you, everyone else who needs it will be able to access it.
• Successful about 10% of the time, and rising.

Using the Open Access Button

Use this search box to find articles immediately�(no installation or sign up)

Finding Open Access on your phone:

Facebook Messenger

​

• Great for when you’re on your mobile. Simply share the link to Facebook!

​

Get early access: https://openaccessbutton.org/fb_chat

Open Access Button & Unpaywall API

• Documented
• Free
• No sign-up required

​

Take a peak: openaccessbutton.org/api

Unpaywall

• Easy to use! Pops up on articles with DOI’s.
• Available for Chrome & Firefox. Download the plugin in one click.
• Made by Impactstory: https://impactstory.org/
• Finds 46% of content without a subscription
• Useful for: Your Researchers, your Staff, you!

​

Get it: http://unpaywall.org

Across the web

The Open Access Button � Request System-

When an article isn’t freely available we ask the authors to share it by putting it into a repository. We help authors share quickly, legally, and widely so that not only you get access - but everyone does, forever!

How the Open Access Button contacts authors

​

• Checking your story and request (so we don’t send spam)
• Finding the author’s up to date email address
• Sending authors a friendly message with your name and why you want the article
• Guiding the author on providing a legal copy of their work
• Putting the article in a repository (Zenodo)
• Sharing the article with a user, and anyone else who needs it

How to put- �-Open Access in ILL-

We believe the power and ubiquity of ILL systems and staff can be leveraged to dramatically accelerate the awareness, use, and creation of Open Access, all while driving down costs and helping improve the service.

This can be done by:

1. Delivering Open Access content with ILL
2. Creating Open Access content with ILL
3. Using ILL to deliver content in place of subscriptions

But... right now

~100 interlibrary loan specialists around the world told us:

• Most ILL systems don’t allow easy discovery or delivery of Open Access
• Many ILL staff don’t know about Open Access or have to leverage it
• Many ILL staff have concerns about how patrons will respond to fulfilling with Open Access
• Almost no ILL staff use ILL to drive article deposits
• Usually ILL systems are unfriendly (for everyone) to use
• Many ILL systems aren’t well integrated on campus
• Many campuses suggest their patrons search for an Open Access copy before submitting an ILL - but don’t say how

Where we’re going

InstantILL: a supercharged ILL form

• Subscriptions, Open Access, ILL and other services work to deliver content through your ILL form instantly.
• ~10-20% of content delivered instantly. All requests checked to save your staff time.
• Submits ILLs, already checked against subscriptions & with great Metadata, to your ILL system.
• EmbedOA (shown left) sets the scene for this new type of ILL form. Try it today.
• Need support from libraries to advance development.

More info: openaccessbutton.org/instantill

GetPDF: All delivery services, one button

• Subscriptions, Open Access, ILL and other services all in one button that is always by your patron’s side.
• Comes pre-installed on Library PC’s or installed onto a users browser
• Prototyped with Imperial College London, working with IUPUI to advance. Need support from libraries to advance development.
• The Open Access Button (shown right) sets the scene for this move.�More info: openaccessbutton.org/getpdf

Where we’re at

NEW: Finding OA when processing Interlibrary Loans (ILL)

• Helps ILL staff check for Open Access without changing their workflows
• Provides resources & advice for staff on what to send.
• Works on Alma, Clio, ILLiad & email with more on the way
• Similar to our website & plugin, but honed for ILL staff
• Use it free: openaccessbutton.org/deliveroa

DeliverOA: finding OA in Illiad

NEW: Add a search bar to your library webpages

^ Put an easy to use search bar on any of your libraries pages!

​

Make it easy for your researchers to discover Open Access articles before they make Interlibrary loans or browse your Libguide. No coding skills required.

​

NEW: Add a search bar to your library webpages

Make it easy for your researchers to discover Open Access articles while they make Interlibrary loans or browse your Libguide. No coding skills required. Free to use at openaccessbutton.org/embedoa

​

NEW: Finding OA alternatives for lots of articles at once!

• Upload a spreadsheet with a list of articles, and it does the rest.
• We’ll send you a spreadsheet with a list of article we could find Open Access alternatives for.
• Useful to check compliance, find how much of a journal is OA, see how many ILLs you could fill with OA.

�Free to use at openaccessbutton.org/oasheet

This is just a start.� �There are massive challenges, and the gap between what is possible and what is now is enormous.

​

Together  we can do more to use Interlibrary Loan to support trusted knowledge that fairly owned, created, and read.

Challenges

• Explaining versions (e.g pre-print, post-print, author accepted manuscript) to scholars
• Navigating when to use OA vs ILL
• There isn’t enough green OA yet
• Funding to sustain the tools and create better versions
• Integrating Open Access Button author requests into ILL

What you can do

• Use these tools
• If the tools don’t work for you or your workflows, let us know.
• Share your ideas with us for how to take this further
• Complete the challenge

A challenge for you

• You’re all ahead of the curve globally... let’s keep it that way
• Can you try to integrate requests to authors to make their work Open Access into your workflows?
• Let’s start small.
• This can be done today through our website.
• “A patron at XYZ University would like to read your work”
• Share your feedback with me: joe@openaccessbutton.org

Stay in the know

openaccessbutton.org/libraries

Get the slides

openaccessbutton.org/odense

​

Questions, feedback?

Contact me @mcarthur_joe or Joe@openaccessbutton.org

or come and chat to me. �