University of California Systemwide Libraries

Pursuant to the University of California (UC) Council of University Librarian’s (CoUL)1 3 August 2017 charge, this Pathways to OA Working Group2 has identified the current universe of Open Access (OA) approaches, and has analyzed the suite of strategies available for effectuating those approaches. Each approach described within this Pathways document offers unique and, in some cases, overlapping challenges, opportunities, and room for experimentation. The strategies examined here create space and freedom for the campuses to pursue both individualized and connected paths toward a large-scale transition to OA—though as we highlight below, collective action on implementing the strategies is likely to bear greater fruit. To help guide such a path forward, we identify possible next steps that each or all of the UC libraries can pursue to advance each approach.