What can I do as an editor or editoral board member?

A journal, press, or monograph series trades on your good name when it lists you as an editor or editorial board member. Be certain you approve of its policies:

• Read the copyright transfer agreement used by your publisher. If it’s not allowed that authors deposit their works in open archives, ask the publisher to change its policy.
• If your journal is available by subscription, ask the publisher to provide free access to articles that were published more than six months ago.
• If you are working with monographs, ask the publisher to make scanned versions of out-of-print works freely available. For new works, encourage the publisher to define a time period after which monographs will be archived and made freely available.
• Encourage your publisher to investigate open-access business models. Resources to aid in their planning are available from JISC and the Open Society Institute.
• If the publisher is uncooperative and pursues policies that unnecessarily restrict access, consider following the example of journals in disciplines such as biology and mathematics by “declaring independence.” Resign from the journal and launch a new, open-access journal to serve the same niche. Your library can assist you in planning the transition.
• Look into whether your library provides publishing services. Many research libraries are working with editors of small journals to develop open access versions.
• Serve on editorial boards for open-access journals, e-book series, and other kinds of new openly accessible works like wikis.