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New Open Science resources

By Paul Ayris, on 27 September 2022

Open Science strides forward

For the start of the academic year, the UCL Office for Open Science has prepared two outputs which can be used for training. These will be of interest to those starting on their Open Science/Scholarship journey and for early career researchers.

The first is a video, produced with funding from Research England, which introduces the concept of Open Science/Scholarship to those new to the idea. It lasts for some 40 minutes and describes the 8 pillars of Open Science, by which the concept of Openness is defined in Europe. The video can be seen on our Open Science web pages. Each section is introduced by a member of UCL staff. At the end of the video is a short Quiz, which we invite all viewers to take, to test their knowledge and understanding of Open Science/Scholarship. The Quiz returns a score for you at the end of the session, which is confidential to the individual viewer. I encourage you to watch the video and then to take the Quiz as part of your in-house training. The whole session would take just 40 minutes.

The second resource which the UCL Office for Open Science is providing is a Guide to Open Science/Scholarship for early career researchers. It has been produced with input and a scholarly Preface from the UCL Doctoral School. The Guide is closely based on a French original, which has been adapted with permission to suit the UK Higher Education sector. It is a remarkably clear introduction, easy to grasp by research students and early career researchers, librarians and Professional Services staff, at whom it is aimed.

Webinar

Finally, today (27 September) was the day I helped deliver chapter 38 of the series Focus on Open Science webinars, once again with funding from the Cities Programme from UCL Global Engagement.

Today’s webinar was conducted in partnership with the University of Nanterre in Paris. I spoke for 20 minutes about the UCL Office for Open Science and how we co-ordinate activity in UCL across all 8 pillars of Open Science.  The extended Q&A session at the end of the day offered many questions on the undoubted success of UCL Press, which I gave as an exemplar of change at a European level. The University of Lorraine is converting its traditional Press into an OA Press. I look forward to exchanges with them on Best Practice in OA publishing as their work progresses.

I wish all my colleagues in LCCOS (Library, Culture, Collections, and Open Science) the best at the start of the new academic session. I am proud and privileged to be here and working with you all.

Paul Ayris

Pro-Vice-Provost LCCOS

The Pro-Vice-Provost’s View

By Paul Ayris, on 29 January 2020

The Sorbonne Declaration on Data Rights

27 January 2020 saw a number of global university networks assemble in Paris under the chairmanship of LERU (League of European Research Universities). The international Research Data Rights Summit was dedicated to a discussion of Open Data and national/regional legislative frameworks to support research data management, research data being the building blocks on which publications (such as journal articles) can be based. The meeting was called under the aegis of the Sorbonne University, the University of Amsterdam and UCL (University College London).

The Sorbonne Declaration is signed

Following intensive discussion, 8 global university networks signed the Sorbonne Declaration on research data management and research data rights. These networks are: the Association of American Universities (AAU), the Coordination of French Research-Intensive Universities (CURIF), the German U15, the Group of Eight (Go8) Australia, the League of European Research Universities (LERU), RU11 Japan, the Russell Group (UK), and the U15 Group of Canadian Research Universities. This Data Summit was unprecedented in its scale, with networks representing more than 160 of the main research-intensive universities in the world actively involved.

Research data is the new currency in the age of Open Science/Scholarship. This is an essential issue for the quality and transparency of research. It is also a crucial economic issue: funded largely by public money, research data represents tens of billions of euros worldwide. The objective is therefore to make these data accessible in order to accelerate scientific discoveries and economic development. For example, in Europe, according to a recent report produced by the European Commission, sharing and better managing research data would save 10.2 billion euros per year in Europe, with an additional potential of 16 billion euros of added value by the innovation generated. With the current global concern over the coronavirus, the sharing of research data can only help lead us faster to finding effective treatments. The Sorbonne Declaration is therefore set against the background of the growing importance of research data as a key scholarly output which can benefit society and address the global challenges which face humankind.

Zamansky Tower, Sorbonne University

The Sorbonne Declaration acknowledges a number of principles which underpin research activity in the age of Open Science/Scholarship, such as: research data should be openly shared and re-used as much as possible and it is the academic community which can identify the complex conditions for such re-use.

The university networks commit to a number of actions, such as: research data should be FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Re-usable); and changing reward schema to acknowledge FAIRness and Openness.

The Declaration calls on the global research community to build the necessary environment to encourage data sharing and makes a number of requests of funding agencies, such as to consider the full costs of research data management as eligible costs for funding; and of national jurisdictions, to ensure proper legislative frameworks to support openness and sharing, avoiding ‘lock in’ to commercial services.

Open Science/Scholarship is a force for good in the world, leading to better research methodologies and the global sharing of research publications. With the possibility to share research data, Open Science/Scholarship offers the potential to provide new routes for discovery and the creation of knowledge and understanding. This is what the Sorbonne Declaration aims to do – to create a scholarly landscape from which the whole of society can benefit.

Paul Ayris

Pro-Vice-Provost (UCL Library Services)

Pro-Vice-Provost’s View

By Paul Ayris, on 13 June 2019

Visit of Carlos Moedas, European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation

On Thursday 13 June 2019, the EU Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, Carlos Moedas, visited UCL with members of his cabinet.

The purpose of the Commissioner’s presence was to re-visit those European universities to which he feels especial affinity. He leaves his position in the autumn of 2019 once the new European Commission takes office.

As Pro-Vice-Provost with a responsibility for co-ordinating Open Science across UCL, I was asked to address him in the Provost’s Office to outline the success that UCL has had in introducing Open Science practice across the institution. I also highlighted the challenges in Europe in moving to embrace Open Science principles. This is the text which I used in my talk, sitting next to the Commissioner as I spoke.

Successes

  1. UCL Press is the UK’s first fully OA University Press. We have published 106 monographs with over 2 million downloads – when conventional sales over the bookshop counter might result in 200 sales per title. Our most downloaded book is from Professor Danny Miller in Anthropology in UCL, How the World Changed Social Media, which has been downloaded over 300,000 times. This shows the transformative effect of OA monograph publishing.
  2. We have also launched a megajournal platform – with the first subject section being the Environment. This has Open Peer review and the submission is made available immediately as Green OA in a Pre-Print repository prior to peer review and final publication.
  3. We have just launched our Open UCL Research Data repository for academics to archive their research data for sharing and re-use.
  4. UCL Discovery is the institutional OA repository. We monitor OA compliance from the Faculties on a monthly basis and have compliance rates as high as 90%. UCL Discovery has just passed the 20 million download mark.
  5. From 2000-2016, Digital Science has shown that UCL is consistently the university in the Russell Group in the UK most engaged with OA.
  6. We have also launched a pilot Open Educational Resources repository to collect educational materials for sharing and re-use.
  7. We have a pan-UCL Open Science governance platform, which monitors the introduction of Open Science principles and practices across the institution; and we lead work in Open Science in LERU (League of European Research Universities).
  8. UCL is one of the first universities anywhere in Europe to include Open Access to publications, research data and software, as a core principle in our academic promotions framework. This policy was signed off and published in 2018.

Challenges and how UCL can help  

  1. Academic concerns with Plan S, not with Open Access, threaten to de-rail the advances made across Europe in Open Science practice. We would like to support Plan S by working with the Commission and others to make Alternative Publishing Platforms, on the model of UCL Press, a reality across Europe.
  2. Those who manage the European Open Science Cloud have not engaged with universities, indeed they ignore my calls for collaboration. UCL would like to work with the EOSC to determine rules of engagement for universities. We have considerable experience, running the DART-Europe portal for OA research theses, which aggregates metadata for 619 universities and provides access to over 800,000 full-text research theses in 28 countries.
  3. The Commission’s Open Science Policy Platform work on Next Generation Metrics is badly stalled and needs a kick for it to produce a set of Recommendations which can be embraced by the global academy. UCL could help as we are out to informal consultation on an institutional Bibliometrics policy, grounded in Open Science principles.
  4. UCL is attempting, with LERU and other partners, to build a pan-European community for Open Science; the Commission could help by providing opportunities for seed funding to encourage growth in community engagement. Open Science, after all, is about people not just principles and practice.

I gave the Commissioner a gift bag from UCL Press containing, amongst other things, a copy of Danny Miller’s How the World Changed Social Media, the most downloaded book from UCL Press. The Commissioner has asked me to follow up with him and his team on a number of the issues I raised. I will certainly be doing that.

Paul Ayris

Pro-Vice-Provost (UCL Library Services)

Library design and European collaboration

By Benjamin Meunier, on 10 April 2019

Earlier this year, I was honoured to be invited to join the LIBER Architecture Group (LAG), as the UK representative. I am replacing Karen Latimer, former Librarian of Queen’s University Belfast and an expert in library design and heritage architecture. The group furthers the exchange of experience between librarians and architects throughout Europe and attempts to raise the level of awareness of new projects and trends. This is done through biennial seminars, and via a database of Library Buildings in Europe documenting new buildings, renovations, refurbishments and extensions. The LIBER Architecture Group brings librarians together with building design professionals, and helps to focus concepts and planning processes and to share best practice in the sector. It operates as part of LIBER’s Strategic Direction on Research Infrastructure.

As the UK’s future relationship with the European Union continues to be under question, UCL is committed to maintaining close partnerships with European Higher Education and research organisations. The work we do in Library Services, in many areas across the service, involves work with European partners and I am pleased to be able to play a part in developing links with colleagues in the area of European library architecture.

On Monday, as part of the LIBER Architecture Group’s bi-annual meeting, I visited the National Library of Luxembourg, which is due to open in September 2019. The building is very nearly complete, and the move of collections is due in the coming weeks. It is a monumental building, and much of the construction sites I visited or saw in Luxembourg were on a large scale, reflecting the country’s ambitious plans to develop its knowledge economy.

The view inside the brand new National Library, opening in September

Façade of the National Library of Luxembourg

When it opens, the library will provide 470 study spaces, open to anyone over the age of 14. The library building was designed to meet best practice in sustainable construction, using geothermal energy and thermal mass to maintain stable environmental conditions. Storage space at the back of the building provides shelving for 300,000 items. Where collections are on open access, each shelf is fitted with an LED light strip, creating an almost theatrical feel but also practical way of ensuring that users can see clearly even when browsing the lowest shelves in a building where there is little ceiling lights (for environmental reasons and also to minimise the risk of fire).

Facilities within the library include a music room and family study room, where parents may undertake their research accompanied by young children. The library also has parking spaces for 2 “Bicherbus”, the national library bus, which travels across the country to support users in Luxembourg.

View of Luxembourg Learning Centre, at the centre of Luxembourg University’s new campus on the former steelworks

The Luxembourg Learning Centre is based within an old coal warehouse, at the foot of two huge steelwork chimneys. It is at the heart of the new Science City in Belval, about half an hour from the centre of Luxembourg City. During my visit, I learned that Luxembourg’s economy was severely affected by the loss of the steel industry in the 1970s and had to transform its economy into the financial hub it is today. However, the country is keen to diversify its economy and avoid relying entirely on the finance sector, so it is fast developing its science and innovation sector.

The Belval site is being redeveloped with EUR 1 billion already invested and a further EUR 900 million due to be injected by the government to transform this former industrial plant into a university campus associated with a wider cultural and entrepreneurial district. The industrial past is everywhere to be seen, with the plant and warehouse buildings now listed as monuments.

The Learning Centre is a high-tech library which supports around 7,000 students at the university. With 1,000 study spaces and built at a cost of around EUR 70 million, it is on a scale fit to support further growth of the university. Collections are in English, French and German, reflecting the multilingual nature of the country. Signposts on the campus are in French but all the signage in the library is in English, a decision the Library took to ensure that the majority of users could easily navigate the building. There is a welcome point and self-service RFID equipment, provided by Bibliotheca, at the entrance. The library operates with a relatively small team (24 staff in total), and their Customer Service team work closely with students on various UX projects. The library closes at night and is also closed at weekends, and they are looking at extending these hours in response to demand. For more information, including a video of the impressive building, you can visit the website of the Luxembourg Learning Centre.

The next LIBER Architecture Group seminar will be held in April 2020 and hosted at the Luxembourg Learning Centre. Further details will be circulated later this year.

Futuristic furniture and hi-tech equipment feature throughout the Learning Centre, such as these built-in tablets to provide access to national newspapers

The Learning Centre’s glass walls are wrapped around the original structure of the coal warehouse which fed the steelworks

Information for eligible EU staff who have not yet applied for Settled Status and may wish to apply during the pilot

By Benjamin Meunier, on 3 December 2018

This message is addressed to colleagues who are considering applying for Settled Status or who have applied and wish to seek reimbursement of the settled status fee from UCL.

 

Android Device Booking

As mentioned in a previous blog post on LibNet,  UCL HR were looking to provide equipment have now purchased an Android device with NFC technology, which staff may use to make their settled status visa application.  The device will be available from UCL HR Reception, 2nd Floor of Bidborough House.

To book a time to use the device, please visit: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/hr/services/bookings/index.php

If, when you try to book, all the available slots have been taken, please email: eustaffqueries@ucl.ac.uk

 

Brexit, Settled Status and FAQ Briefing

HR have made 2 further immigration briefing sessions available on 5th December.  They will be held at the UCL Institute of Neurology. To book, click on the preferred session below.

Wednesday 5th December, 10am

Wednesday 5th December, 12.30pm

If you are unable to attend either of these sessions, you may wish to view a recording of the presentation from a recent session and our related immigration FAQs, available here: Brexit and Settled Status briefing and FAQs

 

Applying for Settled Status and expenses refund

It has come to our attention that it is not necessary to send the blank email to the Home office and wait for the response.  Staff have been able to access the application to apply, which is available here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.gov.HomeOffice.ho1

UCL employees who have paid the settled status fee (£65) may forward their receipt to eustaffqueries@ucl.ac.uk and the expense will be reimbursed through the payroll.

 

Brexit Support: EU Settlement Scheme and Provost’s View

By Benjamin Meunier, on 8 November 2018

Dear colleagues,

UCL HR recently circulated the message at the end of this blog to non-British EU staff. In case you missed it, this provides information on the EU Settlement Scheme, which is the scheme arranged by the British government to ensure that EU citizens who are currently living in the UK continue to enjoy the same benefits, including the right to live here, work here and access public services. UCL has scheduled a number of briefing sessions with a specialist law firm, which you are welcome to attend if you are affected. Colleagues who have attended the first session (held yesterday) found it helpful.

You may also be interested in the Provost’s View for this week, which sets out how UCL is responding to Brexit. The Provost places a major emphasis on UCL’s ongoing commitment to support staff and students, as highlighted in the following slides.


 

Full details on the EU Settlement Scheme are provided below. One suggestion from a Library colleague which is being explored is the feasibility of providing access to Android devices for staff who need to register for the EU Settlement scheme – if this can be arranged, I will advise about this separately.

For more information, please see https://www.ucl.ac.uk/brexit. If you have any concerns about Brexit in relation to Library Services, please ask your line manager, myself or any member of the Library SMT.

 

 

The Home Office pilot of the EU Settlement Scheme opens from 15 November 2018 and we would like to provide you with additional support if you are considering making an application. There is further information on the scheme, eligibility and how to apply in this pilot phase below.  

We have also arranged briefing sessions with the law firm, Eversheds Sutherland who will be able to answer any general immigration questions you may have. There are four sessions this month and we would encourage you to register soon as we anticipate places will be in high demand.

Book your place at your preferred briefing session now:

 

What is the EU Settlement Scheme?

In advance of the UK’s exit from the EU on 29 March 2019, the UK government has committed to protect the rights of EU citizens and their family members currently living in the UK. This includes the right to live here, work here and access public services such as healthcare and benefits. To retain these rights after 31 December 2020, EU citizens must apply for UK immigration status under the EU Settlement Scheme. Further detail on the Settlement Scheme can be found on GOV.UK.

 

What is the pilot?

The Home Office is testing the EU Settlement Scheme through a series of pilots ahead of the public launch. This second phase of the pilot starts in November and runs until 21 December this year and covers employees in the higher education and health and social care sectors.

This pilot is testing the application process that EU citizens and their family members will use when the scheme opens fully next year. Feedback about your experience will be used to make improvements to the process before the Scheme fully launches to the public by 30 March 2019.

 

Who is eligible?

You will only be able to take part in the pilot if you are an employee of our [university/institution], and you are:

  • an EU citizen and have a valid biometric passport (this is an e-passport which has a digital chip)
  • or a non-EU citizen family member employed by the [university/institution] and have a biometric residence card with ‘EU Right to Reside’ on the back, which you have applied for on or after 6 April 2015

 

If you are eligible to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme pilot you will need to complete a short and simple online application form to: 

  • prove your identity;
  • show that you live in the UK; and
  • declare any serious criminal convictions.

 

Application process during the pilot

To apply to the EU Settlement Scheme you will need to complete an online application:

  • Verify your identity – You will need to have a valid biometric passport or biometric residence card (issued by the Home Office) to apply in this pilot. All applications must use the EU Exit: ID Document Check app to verify identity. This is currently only available to download on Android devices – an easy way to check if your device can use this app, is if your device has the technology to make contactless payments. A number of local authorities are offering an identity verification service to ensure those who do not have access to a suitable device are able to do so.  Details of the locations where this service is being provided will be available on GOV.UK once the pilot launches. If you cannot get access to this app during the pilot there will be alternative ways for you to verify your identity once the scheme fully opens.
  • Criminality check – You will need to complete the criminality check by declaring any criminal convictions. Only serious or persistent criminality will affect your application. This should not affect the vast majority of EU citizens and their family members.
  • Verify your residence in the UK – You will need to provide evidence of your residence in the UK. There are number of ways you can do this, for example providing your National Insurance number (if you have one). There may be cases where residence cannot be proven automatically in this way, and you will be asked to provide further evidence on your application. Information on the other types of evidence you can use can be found on GOV.UK. Alternatively, if you have a valid permanent residence document or valid indefinite leave to remain, you will just need to provide proof of that status.

 

What happens next? 

  • When this phase of the pilot goes live, we will send you an email inviting you to participate. This email will provide you with the details of how to register your participation.
  • Once you have registered your email address, you will receive an email with a link to complete your online application.

 

Please note that making an application in this pilot is entirely voluntary. There will be no change to your current rights under EU law until the end of the planned implementation period on 31 December 2020. 

The Home Office will be sharing further details on the pilot and how to make an application, which we will pass on to you. In the meantime, the UCL and Brexit website has a range of information available.

Pro-Vice-Provost’s View

By Paul Ayris, on 7 July 2018

LIBER Conference 2018 (Association of European Research Libraries)

4-6 July saw the 47th LIBER Annual Conference take place in Lille. The theme of the meeting was Research Libraries as an Open Science Hub: from Strategy to Action.

The venue for the Conference was the LILLIAD, the Learning Centre for Innovation at the University of Lille. With easy metro links from the centre of Lille and Lille Europe, which is serviced by Eurostar, Lille is one of the easiest cities to reach from London on the continent of Europe.

The theme of the meeting, attended by 430 delegates from across Europe, was centred on turning Open Science theory into practice. The meeting started with a speech by Professor Dr Frédérique Vidal, Minister of Higher Education, Research and Innovation in France. The Minister launched A National Open Science Plan for France at the meeting – a great coup to have European libraries host such a prestigious launch.

I was joint author of a paper at the Conference, along with our UCL Press European representative, Dr Tiberius Ignat, on the cultural change needed in universities and by Society to embrace the changes that Open Science brings. The photo to the left shows our audience (including 2 members of UCL Library Services) assemble in sweltering (!) heat to listen to the paper, which we intend to publish in the coming months. This is important because attendance at the LIBER Conference each year forms one of my 3 training activities required by the UCL Appraisal process. To this requirement, I personally add into my Appraisal objectives that I speak at one international meeting each year, where the written text of the presentation is peer reviewed and published in Open Access.

The Conference was full of discussion about the role of libraries in offering a leadership role in introducing Open Science practices into universities. There were also many practical examples to offer Best Practice. One excellent example came from the libraries of Catalonia, presented by Anna Rovira and Dr Ignasi Labastida from Barcelona. The Catalans have developed a collaborative model for measuring levels of compliance with Open Access by academics, allowing benchmarking across Catalonia.

But back to the LILLIAD. The recent merger of 3 universities in Lille has created a wonderful opportunity for the University Librarian of the merged libraries, Julien Roche, to create a blueprint for what the 21st century library looks like. A central theme is one of Innovation. The picture to the left shows a typical set of learning spaces in this impressive building. In many ways, it mirrors what the learning spaces in the UCL Student Centre, to be run by the Library from the New Year, will look like. But UCL has gone one step further than Lille. The LILLIAD houses paper collections, largely in science and technology, but the Student Centre in UCL will be a 100% digital learning experience, open 24 hours a day.

I have returned from the 47th LIBER Conference full of optimism about the leading role that libraries can play in the Open Science agenda. UCL Library Services is already seen as a European leader in this space, and this activity will develop further as we adopt a new Library Strategy. It is an exciting time to be leading such a monumental change in European universities.

Paul Ayris

Pro-Vice-Provost (UCL Library Services)

 

 

 

The Pro-Vice-Provost’s View

By Paul Ayris, on 28 June 2018

UCL Open Science Workshop

25 June saw the first UCL Open Science Workshop take place in Chancellor’s Hall, Senate House. 60+ people attended the sessions, a mixture of library staff, academic colleagues and external visitors.

The day was opened with a welcome from Professor David Price, Vice-Provost (Research), a great supporter of UCL’s emerging Open Science agenda. I then followed with an analysis of the LERU Roadmap for Open Science from the League of European Research Universities. We were then treated to a masterly view of Open Science from the point of view of a publisher, led by Dr Catriona MacCallum from Hindawi. Professor James Wilsdon from the University of Sheffield ended the session with an overview of the responsible use of metrics in an Open Science environment.

After the break, we heard from Simon Hettrick on Open Source software and an academic, Dr Emily Sena from the University of Edinburgh, on how Open Science approaches can help in pre-clinical work.

The morning’s plenaries set the scene for a lot of detailed discussion of Open Science issues by those attending. In the afternoon, we had 5 Breakout Groups:

  • How do we make Open the default at UCL?
  • How to make your data Open and FAIR
  • UCL Press: engaging in Open Peer Review
  • Open Education: Introducing OpenEd@UCL
  • Citizen Science

The feedback from the audience in each of these 5 areas was great and will seed lots of development work in the coming 12 months. A UCL Panel – Dr Paul Ayris (Pro-Vice-Provost, UCL Library Services), Professor David Bogle (Pro-Vice-Provost, UCL Doctoral School), and Clare Gryce (Director of Research IT Services, UCL ISD) – then fielded questions from the audience about the emerging role of Open Science in UCL. The day ended with a final plenary from Rebecca Lawrence from F1000 on embedding Open Science in university culture.

This was the first Open Science Workshop organised by UCL, with financial support from UCL HR. It will certainly not be the last. Open Science, which embraces all academic disciplines including the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, has the power to transform the way that research, teaching, learning and outreach are undertaken, and how their outputs are disseminated, made available and curated for all members of an enquiring Society. UCL has an ambition to be a leader in Open Science across Europe and the holding of this first Workshop was an important step towards achieving that goal.

Paul Ayris

Pro-Vice-Provost

UCL Library Services

The Pro-Vice-Provost’s view

By Paul Ayris, on 13 June 2018

Open Science is launched

12 June saw the launch of an important paper on Open Science in Brussels. This was Open Science and its role in universities: a roadmap for cultural change, which can be found here. As chair of the Editorial Group which wrote the paper, I worked with 3 colleagues from LERU (League of European Research Universities) – Dr Ignasi Labastida (University of Barcelona), Katrien Maes (LERU) and Alea López de San Román (LERU).

The paper looks at the opportunity for cultural change in universities to enable Open Science, and how that change can be introduced with the support of all stakeholders in the academic community. Open Science represents a fundamental shift in how research, teaching, learning and support activities are undertaken at institutional level. It is a global agenda, but one which is particularly being promoted by the European Commission. It will form one of the main pillars of the new European framework programme Horizon Europe.

The launch began with a presentation which I made on LERU’s understanding of how Open Science makes a difference at university level, using the 8 pillars of Open Science as defined by the European Commission. Whilst this list of issues is not an exhaustive list of themes covered by the topic of Open Science, it does represent a good starting point for any investigations:

  • Future of Scholarly Communication
  • EOSC (European Open Science Cloud)
  • FAIR data
  • Skills
  • Research Integrity
  • Rewards
  • Altmetrics
  • Citizen Science

I then described the opportunities and challenges that Open Science brings in each of these areas. In Scholarly Communication, I cited the work of UCL Press as an example of the transformative changes that institutional Open Access publishing can deliver. In the area of Citizen Science, I described the importance for universities of re-engaging with Society in order to enable the results of teaching and research to help solve the challenges which we all face.

Open peer review of the LERU paper

Following the presentation of the paper, we had a session of Open Peer review where 4 panel members commented on the paper – one senior official from the European Commission, one representative of a university association, one research funding organization and one publisher. Everyone was unanimous in agreeing with the main conclusions of the paper. One of the comments was that this was one of the best papers written on the impact of Open Science in a university setting. The LERU Secretary General was also fulsome in his praise for the ideas in the paper, as revealed by his tweet after the event:

A fantastic lead author and speaker @ucylpay, a fantastic panel @evamen @BurgelmanJean @Researchkuster @StefEurope, a fantastic paper and a fantastic audience ! Great launch event this morning @Alea_LdSR @katrien_maes @ignasi @BartValkenaers ! Thanks all ! @bertvanderzwaan

But now the work really begins, because the Editorial Group has been commissioned to construct an Open Science Toolkit to support universities in acting on all the 41 Recommendations which the paper contains.

In the 15th century, the invention of moveable type printing in the West revolutionized the way ideas were disseminated across Europe. In the 21st century, Open Science has the potential to do the same at a global level. Open Science is an area where UCL is taking a lead at a European level, and UCL Library Services is making an outstanding contribution in embedding Open Science approaches across the university.

Paul Ayris

Pro-Vice-Provost (UCL Library Services)

 

 

Pro-Vice-Provost’s View

By Paul Ayris, on 22 May 2018

UCL Press celebrates 1 million downloads

21 May 2018 was a very special day for UCL Press, because this is when we officially celebrated 1 million downloads of our research monographs, textbooks and journals.

The Press was founded in 2015 and has now been in production for 3 years. It is a tremendous achievement to have reached the magical figure of 1 million downloads so quickly. Initially, I thought that it would be a result if we achieved 10,000 downloads any time soon. How wrong can you be? The festive party for UCL Press was attended by senior members of the university, UCL academics, our authors, UCL students, and honoured guests. It was held in the North Cloisters on a sunny, warm Spring evening.

There were three speakers at the event. Professor David Price, Vice-Provost (Research), congratulated the Press on achieving its remarkable impact figures and pointed out that UCL Press titles were now downloaded in 222 countries and territories. This includes North Korea, where UCL Press titles even there have been downloaded 15 times.

The second speaker was Georgina Brewis. Georgina has just revised The World of UCL, which is UCL’s institutional history.

As Georgina explained, she did more than add an extra chapter to bring the history up to date. She rigorously pruned the number of images in the book, many of which are from UCL Special Collections, and ensured that UCL’s commitment to equality and diversity are reflected in the earlier materials in the book. Beautifully designed and produced, the new institutional history of UCL is a worthy addition to the UCL Press stable.

Finally, I was able to complete the trio of speeches with a few words of my own.

At the present rate of download (90,000 per month), we will reach 2 million downloads this time next year. So, certainly time for another party. I also recounted a story about the European Commission, who were represented at the latest meeting of LERU Rectors. On Saturday, I was present with the Provost in Edinburgh to seek acceptance by the 23 Rectors of LERU (League of European Research Universities) of the new LERU Roadmap for Open Science. Lessons from UCL Press figure largely in this Roadmap. Open Access publishing performed by an institutional Press has the power to transform the way research outputs are stored, disseminated and used by all those in Society with an enquiring mind.

So congratulations to UCL Press colleagues, to our authors and to everyone in UCL who helps to make the Press such a fantastic success. Let’s look to the next 1 million downloads, coming your way soon…

Paul Ayris

Pro-Vice-Provost (UCL Library Services)