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Library Easter Hours

Library and IT 
The Library will remain open 24/7 throughout the Easter break. The in-person Library Helpdesk and IT Helpdesk and online live chat service for Library and IT will be available Thursday 6, Friday 7 and Tuesday 11 April, from 1 to 6pm.
You also have continued access to an extensive digital library, including 228 databases, over 40,000 e-books and more than 12,000 online journals, available online, 24/7.

Library Help Desk and Live Chat hours are changing from 1st April

From 1st April the library Help Desk and Live Chat hours are changing. 

The service hours will be:  

Monday-Friday : Help-desk 9am-6pm ; Live Chat 9am-6pm. 

Saturdays: Help-desk 1pm-6pm ; Live Chat 1pm-6pm. 

Sunday: Help-desk CLOSED ; Live Chat 1pm-6pm.

Plans for LGBTQ+ Positive Voices @ Goldsmiths Library

February 2023 saw the launch event for the LGBTQ+ Positive Voices @ Goldsmiths Library project take place.

During this event we shared the background to the project, plans for future workshops in the coming year and for the exhibition on campus in 2024.

We will be running two more workshops along the same lines in 2023, on April 20th and August 10th. Booking is now open for the April event at: https://libcal.gold.ac.uk/calendar/SCA

These workshops will give participants the opportunity to find out about the LGBTQ+ Positive Voices project and explore Goldsmiths Special Collections & Archives to create their own pieces for a physical exhibition focused on “creative works that are a positive reflection of being an LGBTQ+ person.”

Attendees of the first event are also welcome to attend these upcoming workshops.

The workshops are open to all members of the LGBTQ+ community (not only those either working or studying at Goldsmiths). And if you know of any individuals or groups outside of Goldsmiths University community who would be interested in participating in this project, please let them know about it.

The exhibition at Goldsmiths University is expected to launch in February 2024, and the deadline for submissions is 20th October 2023. Details of how to submit work to the exhibition will be shared soon.

Contributions for the physical exhibition are also welcome from people who have not attended any of the workshops.

If you would like further information about the LGBTQ+ Positive Voices @ Goldsmiths project, or need support to find materials in Goldsmiths Special Collections & Archives for a piece you are creating, please contact special.collections@gold.ac.uk

We look forward to receiving your contributions to this project.

Ash Green (Project Lead) & Goldsmiths Special Collections & Archives

”Every day is a new day“: Our Positive Action Graduate Traineeship

In September 2022, Hong Luo started working with us as part of the Positive Action Graduate Traineeship, which seeks to address the underrepresentation of people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds working in Higher Education Libraries. The traineeship offers a recent graduate the opportunity to work for 12 months as a Library Assistant, gaining experience which may hopefully lead to a career in libraries. 

Hong describes her experiences of the traineeship so far in the words and illustrations below.

“ You never know what waits for you, until you take action ” 

知之之要,未若行之之实 

I used to resist this sentence, which has been told so many times by friends and tutors, as I always want to make a perfect plan before taking action. But gradually I am understanding what that sentence means. 

As a Fine Art student at Goldsmiths, standing in front of the Library Help Desk, I never knew the offices behind this desk were home to a group of warm, meticulous and professional library staff. The library job is never only about lending a book or finding a study space. There are so many things you can explore or utilise in the library, including study skills workshops, the zines collection and monthly book displays. 

I am principally based in the Reader Service team within the library. Day-to-day tasks for this team include shelving, searching for lost and missing items, mending books, processing membership applications as well as answering varied enquiries at the library help desk. There are so many things to do in the library and I never feel bored.     

The library job never finishes, as I was told by in my first week by my colleague Judith (a lovely lady who has worked in the library setting for a long time). The first development I noticed was that I slowed down my pace, becoming calmer, starting my day with the basic things and focusing on the details. 

What attracts me most to the traineeship is that, though this position is based in the Reader Services team, I also get the opportunity to work with different library teams, throughout the year. This is an excellent opportunity for me to learn, explore how an academic library operates as a big system, understand what is unique about Goldsmiths Library and how I can help to make it a little better.  

During autumn term I worked with the Digital Assets team, dealing with inter-library loan (ILL) requests and scanning for reading lists. Processing an ILL request is a bit like detective work and it can get complicated if the book is old or in another language. But for me, that’s also the most fun part. I’m often amazed by everyone’s reading lists, how unique each person’s interests are, and how many things there are in this world just waiting to be explored.  

Inevitably, as a beginner here I’ve made mistakes, but this is also the way to learn. I appreciate my kind and experienced colleagues, I feel supported by our teams and have learned a lot from them little by little. Also, learn and find inspiration from our visitors, even through a few sentences, I can tell how unique they are and always come with different views on the same thing.   

Apart from the daily tasks, what also surprises me about the library is that there are subtle changes every day.    

About the people, who come and go to the library every day whether it’s a familiar face or a new one. And about the space, an orange appeared on a bookshelf and mysteriously disappears a few days later, a three-legged fox (we think, they were fast!) runs past the library back door, a bunch of books often appears on the same desk in the early morning, even though I just put them back on the shelf yesterday. 

” Every day is a new day “  

日日常新 

I used to resist this sentence too. However, switching to a new perspective by starting this job, I realise how huge the positive power is within that sentence. I look forward to finding a bit of change each day, learning from my daily work and people who come from various backgrounds, and exploring every little thing around the Goldsmiths Library.   

Hong Luo, Positive Action Graduate Trainee

 

Be Part of the Creative Celebration of LGBTQ+ Lives at Goldsmiths Library

Back in 2021, the LGBTQ+ Positive Voices online exhibition, was launched as a celebration of LGBTQ+ people’s positive experiences, lives and perspectives. 

The project was organised by Ash Green (they/them) during the pandemic, and it was partly inspired by their experience of visiting LGBTQ+ exhibitions (including the Museum of Transology, and The Transworkers Photography Exhibition), and seeing others like them represented in those exhibitions. At the same time, some of the personal stories shared alongside items within those exhibitions made Ash feel as if they had a positive future as a trans/gender non-conforming bisexual person. When Ash put out a call for contributions to LGBTQ+ Positive Voices the intention was to give other LGBTQ+ people a space to celebrate their own stories, and a space that allows visitors to experience creative works that are a positive reflection of being an LGBTQ+ person. The exhibition includes videos, dance performance, paintings, digital artworks, audio pieces and games, representing a broad spectrum of sexual and gender identities from 26 artists and creative contributors from around the world. Each exhibition page includes personal stories in the creator’s words alongside the exhibition piece.

A collage of resources from Special Collections & Archives for the LGBTQ+ Positive Voices project

 

As a follow up to this online project, Ash Green is running a series of workshops with Goldsmiths Library Special Collections & Archives (SCA) in 2023 with the same goal in mind – to support Goldsmiths LGBTQ+ / queer community (& beyond Goldsmiths) to capture and share their positive experiences and stories. We also want to use the opportunity to highlight this positive representation using Goldsmiths SCA materials as a springboard. This could be in the form of: 

  • creating individual pieces of art or creative responses to pieces in the collections or 
  • selecting items from the collections and commenting on how they feel it is a positive representation of LGBTQ+ lives. 

… but doesn’t have to be limited to these suggestions only. 

The project will culminate in a physical exhibition in 2024, as well as including appropriate pieces created throughout the project in the LGBTQ+ Positive Voices online exhibition. 

And by creating new materials focused on the SCA collections, these pieces and their creators could also become a part of Goldsmiths University Special Collections & Archives. 

We want to encourage anyone in the LGBTQ+ community to participate, regardless of whether they see themselves as an artist/creative person, or not. If you are an LGBTQ+ person and have a “positive voice” to share, then you are the perfect participant. 

So, we are inviting members of the Goldsmiths LGBTQ+ community to come along to the project launch event (16th February, 2023), which will focus on the background and plans for the project. Event attendees will also be able to explore some of the Goldsmiths Special Collections & Archives and start thinking about (and even create) a contribution for the exhibition if they wish to. 

Follow up events (in spring and summer 2023) will have a similar focus to this event and attendees of the launch event can attend as many as they wish to. 

Book to attend the upcoming event here.

If you’d like more information about the project, including support for finding and accessing Goldsmiths Special Collections & Archives materials  outside of the workshops, please contact special.collections (@gold.ac.uk)

Library book returned to Goldsmiths 57 years late

Library staff were surprised to receive a package in the post recently containing a copy of George Herbert’s Poems with old Goldsmiths Library labels. An anonymous note said that the book had been acquired in 2006 and was now being returned to Goldsmiths. According to the date stamp the book was last issued for return on 13th January 1965, which predates the Library catalogue, the Library building and most of the Library staff. When this item was due to be returned Man had not yet reached the Moon, the Beatles were in the charts with I Feel Fine, and Winston Churchill was still alive.
English Subject Librarian Mark Preston has calculated that the fine would have reached £2080 by now, but on this occasion an amnesty for pre-COVID books would apply.
Arrangements will be made to return the book to the shelves. Our thanks go out to the anonymous donor!
P.S. Students are advised that returning your books 57 years late is not recommended, and that cancellation of any fines would be at the discretion of the Librarian in 2079.
Date stamp label from Goldsmiths Library book which was returned 557 years late.

Finding the Evelyn Public Baths

The watermarked front cover of the Receipt from the British automated company in the ‘Superintendents daily returns and receipt book - Evelyn’

‘Superintendents daily returns and receipt book - Evelyn’ [1] 

Within Special Collections we have a variety of items, each with its own story to tell. One such item is the ‘Superintendents daily returns and receipt book – Evelyn’, This book is full of interesting particulars that really give you a unique sense of the times. The book dates from the 25 July 1934 to the 29 August 1936 and the ‘Evelyn’ of the title refers to the Evelyn Street Baths. Each neatly printed page lists the services the public bath offered along with the cost for those services; in adjoining columns the superintendent has assiduously filled out the payments collected for the goods and services each day. I found myself going back and forth researching different elements of the book to try and gain more insight into the baths and its location, the books original home.  

      

‘Superintendents daily returns and receipt book - Evelyn’ [1] 

Armed only with the knowledge that the book had some relationship to Evelyn Street in Deptford, I first began by simply searching for the ‘Evelyn Street Baths’ in maps, public records, image databases and other archival repositories but, with no results. I also contacted different research and library establishments to try and find what information they held on the baths or the companies associated with them. 

I emailed the ‘Baths and Wash Houses Historical Archive’ [3], based in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire to enquire what exactly a Russian Vapour was, which was one of the services offered at the bath. They were incredibly helpful, providing images and reference books to check, such as the incredibly informative ‘Anges Campbell’s Report Public Baths and Wash-Houses in the United Kingdom 1918’ [5]. Through the insightful correspondence with the ‘Baths and Wash Houses Historical Archive[3], who explained about the different vapour treatments and hot boxes so thoroughly in their response, I was able to understand what a Russian vapour bath was.  

From what I understand a Russian Vapour was most likely a treatment that involved a steam bath or a steam box, sometimes referred to as simply Vapour Baths or the Vapour-Box by Robert Owen Allsop in ‘Public Baths and Wash-Houses’ [6], c.1894. Alfred W. S. Cross ‘Public Baths and Wash-Houses 1906’ [7] refers also to Russian Baths and Russian (Vapour) Baths. I also learnt that a Turkish bath or Turkish Vapour utilised dry heat whereas the Russian equivalent used wet steam. 

Sign used to advertise the Russian Vapour Baths in Brick Lane [2] 

It is said that the Russian baths were an important part of the culture of the East End Jewish community and that they ‘…were mostly used by men following work on a Friday evening, before going to the synagogue for prayers’ [2]. The baths in Brick Lane were known as ‘Schewzik’s’, named after their owner Benjamin Schewzik. I considered the influential position that John Evelyn had in Deptford as not only is the a street named is not the only thing that has shared his name in the area, Using this knowledge I explored areas away from Evelyn street focusing mainly on buildings which bore the Evelyn name in the area, but to no avail so the search continued. 

 

‘Superintendents daily returns and receipt book - Evelyn’ [1] 

A small sticker within the inside of the fabulously marbled front cover of the superintendent’s book tells us that the book itself was produced by Gaylard and Son, an accounts book manufacturer and printing contractor company based in New Cross. I explored their history in the hope that they may have saved their records, which could contain information on who purchased their books and where they were delivered to. Sadly, the business went into liquidation in 1994 and I could find no record, receipts or contact details of the company. So, while interesting this didn’t help me in my search for the bath. 

  Receipt from the British automated company in the ‘Superintendents daily returns and receipt book - Evelyn’

‘Superintendents daily returns and receipt book - Evelyn’ [1] 

In some pages there are receipts from the British Automatic Company, who most likely provided, maintained, and collected the money from, a vending machine in the baths. Although a very well-known company who had contracts with railways there is not much readily available information on the business. The National Archive does have material from the British Automatic Company Limited however this only covers the period 1967 to 1970 [17].  The receipts in the superintendent’s book give the address of the baths as Evelyn Street Bath Deptford, but after further investigation I discovered that this was just how the bath was popularly referred to at the time.  

In my research a truly fascinating and insightful blog post was shared with me entitled ‘An Urban Sociology of Water’ by Les Back’. The post explores public washing and states that ‘ The social life of water and washing provides a way to understand the history of cities’ [4] There is mention of the Laurie Grove Bath in Deptford and  the Clyde Street Baths but, nothing of the Evelyn Street Bath. 

  [13] [14]

The first, black and white, image[13] was the only reference I could find indicating the presence of a bath house in the Deptford area, other than the more well-known Laurie Grove Baths. But being unable to find its location on a map or any source information for the image meant that the search continued. I later came across a second, colour, image [14] which is clearly a later image but from the architecture I could tell it was the same building in the first photograph. In the second image however the building is identified as being the Clyde Street Baths and Library, clearly eliminating it as the Evelyn Street Baths. 

After further discussion with colleagues, I decided to search street records of the dates the book covered, which led me to find out that Evelyn Street had been bombed in the 1940s. This helped narrow my search to pre- World War II. I traced the development of Evelyn Street to see how the road had changed over the years and where there was a large enough space for a building that could accommodate a public baths. I assumed a bath house would be larger than a residential building, like the other baths on the map. The first evidence indicating the location of the bathhouse on Evelyn Street came after some extensive exploration of maps between 1900 and 1970. I was unsure if the baths had been destroyed in the bombing in 1940 but through meticulously studying the Evelyn Public Baths daily return book, I was certain that the bath house was in existence and providing service between 1934 and 1936. I focused my search as close to those dates as possible though eventually I extended my search to later years as later maps provided better detail of the area. Finally, I found a bathhouse on the map series OS 1:1,250/1:2,500, 1944–1970, online, on the National Library of Scotland.  

A screenshot of the Georeferenced maps  from the National Library of Scotland (nls.uk)

 Georeferenced maps — National Library of Scotland (nls.uk)[11] 

Everything was coming together! The baths were not in fact directly on Evelyn Street but, were between Evelyn and Clyde Street and were attached to the Clyde Street library, and bore the sign Deptford Public Bath. The baths opened in 1928 and served the community until around 1988. [16] 

Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Deptford Borough [15] 

With this added information I was even able to find a 1961 ‘Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Deptford Borough’ [15] which refers to the Evelyn Baths as one of three in the area maintained by the council. This report refers to the bath by both its popular name and gives reference to its location.  

It is not clear what exactly happened to the original building but, the Lewisham Indochinese Community Centre now stands in the place of both the library and the bath. The construction of the Community Centre was completed in November 1998.[12] 

This started out as an investigation into where the ‘Superintendents daily returns and receipt book’ had come from but, it took me on a wonderful journey of research and discovery, giving me the opportunity to think creatively and explore different tools and resources of information many of which I will use in the future.  

Acknowledgement

A version of this piece has also been published on the Bath and Wash Houses: Historical Archives webpage under the title ‘ Finding the ‘Evelyn Public Baths’ Deptford Public Baths 1928 – 1988’. [3]

References  

  1. ‘Superintendents daily returns and receipt book – Evelyn’ uncatalogued special collections item  
  2. Jewish Museum London. 2021. Russian Vapour Baths < https://jewishmuseum.org.uk/50-objects/2002-27/> [Accessed 07 February 2022]  
  3. Bath and Wash Houses: Historical Archives [Online] Available at <https://www.bathsandwashhouses.co.uk/> [Accessed 07 February 2022] 
  4. Back, L. An Urban Sociology of Water [Online] CUCR: Centre for Urban and Community Research Available at: <https://cucrblog.wordpress.com/2016/03/12/an-urban-sociology-of-water-by-les-back/> [Accessed 07 February 2022]  
  5. Campbell, A. 1918. Report on Public baths and wash-houses in the United Kingdom. Edinburgh; Constable.  
  6. Allsop, R., 1894. Public Baths and Wash-houses … Illustrated, etc. E. & F.N. Spon: London. 
  7. Cross, A., 1906. Public Baths and Wash Houses. [Place of publication not identified]: B.T. Batsford. 
  8. Gov.uk. 1994. Gaylard & Son Limited Filing History  [Online] Available at <https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/00712703/filing-history> [Accessed 10 February 2022]   
  9. RomanticLondon.org. Undated. Explore Horwood’s Plan – Romantic London. [Online] Available at <http://www.romanticlondon.org/explore-horwoods-plan/#17/51.48654/-0.03529> [Accessed 17 February 2022]  
  10. National Library of Scotland (NLS.UK). c. 1900s. OS1: 1 Million – 1:10K, 1900s [Online] Available at <https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=17&lat=51.48417&lon=-0.03003&layers=175&b=1 > [Accessed 17 February 2022]  
  11. National Library of Scotland (NLS.UK). 1944 – 1970. OS 1:1, 250/1:2,500, 1944 – 1970 [Online] Available at < https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=19&lat=51.48217&lon=-0.02860&layers=170&b=1> [Accessed 17 February 2022]  
  12. Lewisham Indochinese Community Centre. 2022. Our history [Online] Available at <https://indochinese.co.uk/about-us/our-history/> [Accessed 17 February 2022]  
  13. n.d. Clyde Street baths and library. [image] Available at: <https://i.pinimg.com/564x/aa/a5/69/aaa5696364263a70553377810cb2405a.jpg> [Accessed 17 February 2022]. 
  14. n.d. Evelyn Public Baths Deptford [image] Available at: <https://i.pinimg.com/564x/e4/76/0c/e4760ca3d264cfde0a5deb25239befda.jpg> [Accessed 17 February 2022].   
  15. 1961. Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Deptford Borough [image] Available at:<https://wellcomelibrary.org/moh/report/b18237204/37#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=37&z=-0.1377%2C0.4526%2C1.4228%2C0.5554 > [Accessed 17 February 2022].  
  16. 2014. Edith’s Streets: London Local History [Online] Available at < http://edithsstreets.blogspot.com/2014/12/london-and-greenwich-railway-deptford.html 
  17. the British Automatic Company Limited material at The National Archive (Reference: T 193/350)  

 

by Shanique Thompson, Special Collection and Archives Assistant

Help Us Improve Our Library Search

Hello all, I hope you are doing well! 

The Library team is working on a research project over the next few weeks to improve Library Search. The Library Search is Goldsmiths’ information database that helps you find hardcopy and electronic resources like articles, books, and journals. The Search is therefore an important aspect of the university, as it supports academics in providing and sharing resources for their modules, as well as enabling students to find those resources. The Library Team wanted to ensure that the Library Search tool is easy and convenient to use, as well as inclusive and accessible. So, we created a research survey to find out more about your experience, and any feedback you may have.

Screenshot of search results in Goldmsiths Library Search system

 

The survey will start by asking about your general experience with the Library Search, including the specific resources you use to find information. We will then go on to ask you about any issues you may have with locating both physical and electronic resources. Your feedback will be asked about specific features of the Library Search – particularly the bookmark function, the filter for Special Collections and Archives, as well as the Library Induction. Finally, if you have any problems with the digital accessibility and inclusivity of the Library Search, this survey will ask you to mention these areas, as well as suggest further improvements. 

The survey should take around 20 minutes to complete, and it closes on 3rd July. Your opinion truly matters, so come and help us improve our Library by clicking on this survey link.

Thank you, and have a lovely summer!

 

Sarah Rex-Lawson

Library User Experience Research Project Team Member

Creative Computational Arts in the Library Space

‘Artists need an audience’, stated MA Computational Arts student Yasmin Jones, and Goldsmiths Library provided space and support to deliver.

We recently hosted an exhibition of MA/MFA Computational Arts student work and lighting talks by Goldsmiths lecturers and research students. 

Throughout the day, the ground floor of the library became a bustling creative space where students and staff could view the unique outputs of our students. Visitors engaged with various interactive pieces within the space, speaking with the creators about the creative process, thoughts, and mechanisms behind their creations. Guests could do anything from creating an eco-friendly city to tripping up Average Mario. 

 

 

Here’s what some people had to say about the event. 

What value did the library space deliver for this specific event, the students, and the lecturers? 

Yasmin Jones, MA Computational Arts: The library space was great for this event. It was sufficiently spacious, which allowed students to set up their project as desired to highlight their work. Using this space also meant that visitors could discover the pop-up by accident, which broadened the range of people who came to view our work. The fact we were positioned near the entrance was also useful for those attending who are external to the university. We were also big fans of the amount of power outlets! 

Alan Zucconi, Lecturer: The library has been an invaluable space to run events. It has always provided a spacious, yet cosy venue that feels very welcoming. It allows visitors to experience what Goldsmiths really is like, and for the students to see exhibitions and talks that they would have not normally attended. 

Jesse Wolpert, Lecturer: It was so wonderful to be able to finally hold an in-person event again and the library was the perfect space for it.  The students were so happy to be able to show off their projects, get feedback from visitors and be part of a live exhibition. 

What was the value to students showcasing their work? 

Yasmin Jones: This was an unfamiliar exhibition space to most students. This allowed us to learn to be adaptable when setting up a project and meant some had to innovate to find ways to mount their work. The tables we used were a good layout for this event and they were large enough even for the big pieces of work. This event was valuable to students who hadn’t had the opportunity to showcase their work to the public before and was great fun as a cohort as we hadn’t seen each other’s work installed yet. 

Jesse Wolpert: The students had only been able to show their work in class last term. Being in a public space gave them a whole new insight into how their work would be received. 

Artists need an audience, and the library was an excellent setting for students to set up their interactive installations. Students learnt about installing in a new environment, how to trouble-shoot problems on the fly, working together to curate the event and what to do when installations break! 

 

 

 

How did you find working with the library team? 

Yasmin Jones: The library team were great! They kept in contact with us before the event and communicated what would be possible in the space with regards to installing work. They were especially helpful during the setup, and we appreciated their effort to print posters letting people know that we would be using the space. 

Jesse Wolpert: The library team were super encouraging and helpful. We were given a lot of space to use and having the tables set up (with so many plugs!) was perfect for the computational work we do. It was amazing to have the large screen for the talks and the PA system already set up. 

Jesse, what value did you find the event provided to your fellow lecturers? 

We had 12 inspiring 6-minute talks from staff, students and ex-students. The speakers really enjoyed the opportunity to share their passions, their projects and their ideas. It was finally an occasion to celebrate each other’s work and learn more about our colleagues and students. 

What are some other highlights? 

Yasmin Jones: The ability to cordon off the space was really useful and helped with the flow of visitors and ticketing. 

Jesse Wolpert: We hope to do more events at the library as the space is so welcoming and encourages conversation and cross-pollination of ideas. 

 

 

 Caitlin Moore, Subject Librarian

 

 

New UKRI Open Access policy – what you need to know, how to comply and how we can help

The new UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Open Access policy comes into effect on 1 April 2022. The policy applies to:

  • peer-reviewed research articles submitted for publication from 1 April 2022
  • monographs, book chapters and edited collections published from 1 January 2024 (unless a contract has been signed between the author and the publisher before this date that prevents adherence to the policy).

If researchers receive funding from UKRI, they will need to comply with the UKRI Open Access requirements.

In this post, we will outline the key policy points our researchers at Goldsmiths need to know to ensure compliance and what the Online Research Collections (ORC) team in the Library are doing to help our researchers meet the new requirements.

Context

The new UKRI policy builds on earlier Open Access initiatives in the UK that have aimed to accelerate the movement towards openness in academic research. The Finch report, published in 2012, paved the way for a significant change in the way academic journals are published. Following the report, Research Councils UK (RCUK) revised their Open Access policy to require journal articles based on research that they have funded, to be published as Open Access. The Wellcome Trust also developed an Open Access policy and the REF2021 Open Access policy followed in 2016. Open Access is now seen as an integral part of research in the UK with the UK Government emphasising the importance of effective open research practices in the UK Research and Development Roadmap published in 2020.

UKRI is a member of cOAlition S, an international consortium of research funders who launched a new Open Access publishing initiative called Plan S, which commenced on 1 January 2021. The aim of Plan S is to make immediate, full Open Access a reality and centres on ten key principles. These principles are the framework behind the new UKRI policy. More information on Plan S is available here.

In the wake of Plan S, Read & Publish agreements (also know as transitional agreements) have now emerged to support the transition to Open Access. These are agreements where the costs of publishing Open Access, through the payment of an Article Processing Charge (APC), is included as part of our Library subscription agreement with a publisher. These deals are seen as a way for publishers to transition their subscription journals to full Open Access and will play an important role in enabling our researchers to meet the new UKRI Open Access requirements.

Peer reviewed research articles from 1 April 2022

Peer reviewed research articles submitted for publication on or after 1 April 2022 which acknowledge funding from UKRI will need to be made Open Access from the date of publication. The policy applies to all peer reviewed research articles and conference papers published in proceedings with an International Standards Serial Number (ISSN).

There are two routes to compliance:

  • Route 1 (Gold Open Access): Making the Version of Record (published version) free and unrestricted to view and download on the publisher’s website from the date of publication
  • Route 2 (Green Open Access): Making the Author’s Accepted Manuscript (AAM) free and unrestricted to view and download on a repository such as Goldsmiths Research Online (GRO) from the date of publication

All articles must be made Open Access by the date of publication with no embargo period and be published with a CC BY licence unless UKRI has agreed, as an exception, to allow publication under the more restrictive CC BY-ND licence.

A Data Access Statement needs to be included in research articles covered by the policy, even where there is no associated data or where the data is inaccessible. The statement is intended to inform readers where the underlying research materials associated with a paper are available, and how the research materials can be accessed. The statement can include links to the dataset, where applicable and appropriate.

How do I meet the requirements for research articles?

UKRI expect that the significant majority of venues that publish UKRI funded research articles will be able to offer suitable Open Access options to UKRI-funded authors by April 2022 and they emphasise that researchers can publish in the journal or platform they consider most appropriate for their research, provided UKRI’s Open Access requirements are met.

If authors are using route 1 (Gold Open Access) to achieve compliance, there are several options for publication:

  • Publishing an article Open Access via a Read & Publish agreement. As of March 2022, Goldsmiths has agreements in place with SAGE, Springer, Taylor & Francis, Wiley and PLoS. Further information about our agreements is available here. JISC are continuing to negotiate further agreements with a range of publishes on behalf of UK academic libraries. They have recently secured a Read & Publish agreement with Elsevier, and we will communicate information about agreements available to authors published by Elsevier and other publishers when they become available.
  • Making use of the block grant we receive from UKRI to pay an Article Processing Charge (APC). UKRI funds for paying APCs can only be used if the journal meets the JISC requirements for transformative journals or transitional agreements (authors should email gro@gold.ac.uk at the submission stage for confirmation that a journal requiring an APC payment is compliant with the policy). UKRI favours journals that are part of a transitional Open Access arrangement as they are seen as committing to transitioning from being a subscription journal to a fully Open Access one and therefore help advance the long-term aim of Plan S to shift the focus of academic publishing from the subscription model to making Open Access the default.

If authors are using route 2 (Green Open Access) to achieve compliance, they must include the following set statement provided by UKRI in any cover letter/note accompanying the submission:

‘For the purpose of open access, the author has applied a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence to any Author Accepted Manuscript version arising’

The statement will allow authors to post their AAM in a repository such as Goldsmiths Research Online (GRO) with a CC BY licence and no embargo regardless of the standard policy of the publisher. This element of the new UKRI policy is aligned with the Plan S ‘Rights Retention Strategy’ which intends to avoid the situation where authors sign exclusive agreements with publishers that inhibit immediate Open Access.

Most journals require an embargo on the Author’s Accepted Manuscript (AAM), and do not allow it to be made Open Access under a CC BY licence. It is therefore essential that authors using this route are clear with their journal at the point of submission what UKRI requires of them in terms of Open Access and that they check that their publication agreement is compatible with UKRI requirements.

Monographs, book chapters and edited collections from 1 January 2024

There is a new requirement for monographs, book chapters and edited collections published from 1 January 2024 (unless a contract has been signed between the author and the publisher before this date that prevents adherence to the policy) which acknowledge funding from UKRI to be made Open Access.

There are two routes to compliance:

  • Route 1: Making the Version of Record free to view and download on the publisher’s website within 12 months of publication
  • Route 2: Making the Author’s Accepted Manuscript (AAM) free to view and download on a repository such as Goldsmiths Research Online (GRO) within 12 months of publication. The policy allows the author and publisher to agree the appropriate version to self-archive on a repository.

Long form outputs must be published under a Creative Commons licence. UKRI has expressed a clear preference for a CC BY licence, but the more restrictive Creative Commons licences CC BY-NC and CC BY-ND are permitted if an exception is agreed with UKRI.

In 2022 UKRI will publish further guidance on exceptions around the use of third-party materials where permissions for reuse in an Open Access book cannot be obtained and exemptions where the only appropriate publisher is unable to offer an Open Access option that complies with the policy.

The policy does not apply to trade books (defined by UKRI as an academic monograph rooted in original scholarship that has a broad public audience), scholarly editions, exhibition catalogues, scholarly illustrated catalogues, textbooks, and all types of fictional works and creative writing. However, a trade book is considered to be in scope of the policy where it is the only output from a UKRI-funded research project.

How do I meet the requirements for monographs, book chapters and edited collections?

UKRI’s policy on long-form publications won’t be implemented until 1 January 2024, and much of the guidance on this part of the policy has yet to be released.

UKRI has committed to providing a dedicated fund of £3.5 million per year to support the long-form publications Open Access policy. The process for allocating the funds and the definition of eligible costs is being developed. The funding will be held at UKRI in a central pot, and it is anticipated that the funding will be available via an application process.

Although Open Access publication for monographs is less well developed than for research articles, support for fully Open Access books is on the rise with projects such as COPIM (Community-led Open Publication Infrastructures for Monographs) and Opening the Future working towards building a strong infrastructure for Open Access book publishing.

In anticipation of the new UKRI policy, JISC are working to develop new Open Access publishing models and initiatives for monographs (for example book processing charges and membership models that support Open Access). We will monitor these developments and communicate them to our researchers at Goldsmiths.

If I am funded by UKRI, what should I do?

Our previous messaging around Open Access compliance for REF2021 emphasised the importance of authors acting upon acceptance, but the new policy will require authors to consider whether a publishing platform offers compliant Open Access options prior to selecting venues for publication.

Given the complexity of the policy we are advising that authors email gro@gold.ac.uk at the submission stage for confirmation that their chosen publishing venue is compliant, and we will offer advice to authors on the next steps they need to undertake.

JISC in collaboration with UKRI is currently developing an online tool that will enable researchers to identify whether a journal offers an Open Access option that complies with the policy. Once this resource is released the process of identifying eligible journals should be a lot easier for authors.

If you want advice on whether the journal or publisher you wish to submit your research to is compliant, please email gro@gold.ac.uk.

Is this the announcement of the next REF Open Access policy?

The UKRI policy is not the announcement of the next Research Excellence Framework (REF) Open Access policy. However, the policies are expected to align and UKRI have made it clear that compliance with their Open Access policy will also ensure compliance for the next REF.

Although the REF 2021 publication period closed on 31 December 2020, researchers should continue to comply with the REF 2021 Open Access policy by depositing the Author’s Accepted Manuscript (AAM) of journal articles and papers in conference proceedings with an ISSN to GRO within three months of acceptance.

How do I find out more about the policy?

The Online Research Collections (ORC) team in the Library have prepared guidance on the new policy which is available here.

If you have any questions about how the new policy affects your work, please email gro@gold.ac.uk.

Pieter Sonke, Open Access Adviser