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SPEC Kit 310: Author Addenda · 11
Introduction
Recent developments in scholarly communication
have raised the issue of author rights on academic
campuses with increasing frequency. The NIH
Public Access Policy, the expanding interest in and
use of institutional repositories, the innovation of
new models of publishing, and the growing number
of universities mandating open access policies are
changing the current environment of scholarly dis-
semination. Consequently, it is increasingly important
to manage copyright in ways that serve author inter-
ests and those of the scholarly community. A report
titled “The University’s Role in the Dissemination
of Research and Scholarship — A Call to Action,”
released in February 2009 by the Association of
American Universities, the Association of Research
Libraries, and others, implores university administra-
tors to adopt the principle that the “dissemination of
knowledge is as important to the university mission
as its production.”1 One strategy addressed in the
report recommends universities to “encourage fac-
ulty authors to modify contracts with publishers so
that their contracts permit immediate open access or
delayed public access to peer reviewed work in a man-
ner that does not threaten the viability of the journals
or monographs.” This approach will require authors
to use an addendum or to modify publication agree-
ments on their own, and it illustrates the increasing
awareness and relevance of the topic of author rights
in academia.
This survey on author addenda was distributed
to the 123 ARL member libraries in February 2009.
Respondents were asked to provide information on
the use of author addenda at their institutions, which
rights authors were encouraged to retain, and the
methods by which libraries are conducting promo-
tion and outreach efforts on the topic of author rights
and addenda. Seventy libraries (57%) responded to
the survey. Of those respondents, 35 (50%) indicated
that authors at their institutions are using an author
addendum, and 33 libraries (47%) indicated that they
“did not know.” Only two libraries indicated that
authors at their institutions were not using author
addenda.
Addenda Promotion &Endorsement
The majority of respondents (77%) do not formally col-
lect information on the use of author addenda on their
campuses. Mostly, evidence is gathered in an informal
way, either when an author contacts the library with a
question related to copyright or an author addendum,
or through anecdotal stories of success or failure in us-
ing an addendum. One library collects information by
asking authors to follow instructions on their institu-
tion’s addendum to fax or e-mail a copy to the library,
but several libraries made comments such as, “We
collect information when we hear from authors about
use which is not very often and has only been when
the addendum has been rejected. We hear much more
often questions about general copyright transfer” and,
“We sometimes learn anecdotally about experiences
with addenda, but we do not systematically seek to
gather this information.”
Executive Summary

Survey Results