Monday, April 17, 2017

Library helps authors protect their rights

"In the course of publishing academic works, publishers will often ask you to sign copyright transfer agreements; these agreements transfer the copyright of your work to the publisher, and can limit what you can do with your own work after publishing," says an article on the Library website. "Retaining certain rights makes it easier for your share your work without restriction."

"This is particularly important in light of the Tri-Agency Open Access Policy on Publications, requiring researchers to make grant-funded research Open Access within 12 months of publication. Learn more about it on the Library’s Open Access guide." 

The Library offers the following tips on how to protect your rights as an author:

• Think about how you want to be able to use your work after you publish
• Use the publisher policy database SHERPA/RoMEO to understand the policies of the journals you are interested in publishing with
• Carefully read the copyright transfer agreement the publisher provides, they are legal documents
• Before signing an agreement, know that copyright transfer agreements are negotiable!
• Educate yourself: The Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) has created a simple addendum you can attach to your publishing agreement to help you retain rights to create new works with the article, share the article with colleagues for non-commercial purposes, make and distribute copies in the course of teaching and research, and post the Article on personal or institutional Web sites and in other open access digital repositories.

Authors looking for more information can visit the Library’s Author’s Rights guide, contact the University's Copyright & Licensing Librarian, Lauren Byl, or register for an Open Access policy workshop.

Waterloo represented at Riyadh exhibition

Ralon Nazareth, Lynne Wight, President Feridun Hamdullahpur, and Ahmed El-Madkhoum, nanotechnology engineering co-op student at the Waterloo booth in Riyadh.

The Graduate Studies Office, Marketing and Undergraduate Recruitment, and Renison's English Language Institute represented the University of Waterloo at last week's 7th annual International Exhibition and Conference on Higher Education (IECHE) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, held from April 12 to 15.

Waterloo has participated in each installment of the IECHE since its inception. The Waterloo booth featured Ralon Nazareth, marketing and recruitment specialist from the English Language Institute, and Lynne Wight of the Graduate Studies Office, as well as volunteer student and alumni ambassadors.  

President Feridun Hamdullahpur participated in a conference session on Wednesday, April 12 entitled "Closing the gap between universities and the labour market: cultivating the new skills and capabilities for 21^st century employment" alongside Susan McCahan, vice-provost of innovations in undergraduate education at the University of Toronto, Elmer Sterken, rector of the University of Gronigen, and Ahmed Al-Yamani, rector of Prince Sultan University. 

President Hamdullahpur dropped by the Team Waterloo booth at the exhibition.

For more information, check out the Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs website and Alumni Relations' site promoting the 7^th IECHE Riyadh event. 

"The fair is well attended by students of expatriates living and working in the area," says Lynne Wight. "Students are coming from a variety of education systems including – Saudi Arabia, India, British, American, International Baccalaureate. Fair attendees include students from Syria, Egypt, Lebanon, and Jordan."

Approximately 300,000 people attend the annual exhibition. 

Water Boys climbing the charts with glee

The Water Boys, made up of members of the University's A Cappella Club, are singing their way to the top tier of the international a cappella competition.

The Water Boys are the first Canadian singing group to make it to the finals of the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (yes, that's a thing, famously featured in the Pitch Perfect movie series) in more than a decade, and are the first group from Ontario to do so.

Its members hail from Engineering, Mathematics, Arts, and Applied Health Sciences and are a familiar sight and sound at on-campus events. The all-male group was founded in 2008.

The Water Boys "rode a tidal wave of determination, punchy vocals and explosive choreography" from a pool of 367 competing singing groups all the way to the top 10.

They will be competing on April 22 at the Beacon Theatre in New York City, proudly representing the UW A Cappella Club, the University of Waterloo, and Canada at the finals.

If you're looking for more information, the Federation of Students has a profile of the Water Boys on their website.