EMBRACING FULL OPENNESS: TRANSITIONING ESNBU FROM CC BY-NC TO CC BY
Vol.10, Issue 2, 2024, pp. 217-224 Full text: PDF . HTML
DOI: https://doi.org/10.33919/esnbu.24.2.0
Web of Science: 001379776600002
Author:
Stanislav Bogdanov https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7144-1044
Affiliation: New Bulgarian University, Sofia, Bulgaria 002qhr126
Abstract
This editorial explores the rationale behind transitioning the ESNBU journal's content licensing from CC BY-NC (Attribution-NonCommercial) to CC BY (Attribution). For a decade, the journal operated under the CC BY-NC license to restrict commercial use, but this approach has unintentionally limited its reach and visibility. The objective is to address these limitations and promote unrestricted dissemination of scholarly content. The analysis involved a review of the journal's indexing history, feedback from database providers, and usage statistics over the past ten years. We examined cases where the NC clause hindered the journal's inclusion in databases, especially those operated by commercial or for-profit entities. We also reviewed existing literature on licensing impacts in open access publishing to understand broader trends and potential benefits of a transition to CC BY. The study found that the NonCommercial restriction created significant barriers to the journal's visibility and dissemination. Several commercial and academic databases opted not to index the journal's content due to ambiguity around the "commercial use" clause. By transitioning to a CC BY license, we anticipate enhanced indexing opportunities, increased content integration into educational resources, and a broader reach, ultimately leading to higher citation rates and greater impact. Moving to a CC BY license aligns the journal with the principles of Open Science, fostering unrestricted access to knowledge. This change supports wider dissemination, potential for increased collaboration, and enhanced visibility in academic databases. Future analysis will focus on measuring the impact of this transition on the journal's citation metrics, user engagement, and overall accessibility.
Keywords: Diamond Open Access, Creative Commons licensing, NonCommercial restriction, licensing transition, educational content use, Open Science
Article history:
Submitted: 13 November 2024
Reviewed: 20 November 2024
Accepted: 25 November 2024
Published: 22 December 2024
Citation (APA):
Bogdanov, S. (2024). Embracing Full Openness: Transitioning ESNBU from CC BY-NC to CC BY. English Studies at NBU, 10(2), 217-224. https://doi.org/10.33919/esnbu.24.2.0
Copyright © 2024 Stanislav Bogdanov
This is an Open Access article published and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Funding:
This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
References
Open Access Initiatives of the Max Planck Society. (2003, October 22). The Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities. https://openaccess.mpg.de/Berlin-Declaration
Creative Commons (2017, October 15). NonCommercial interpretation. https://wiki.creativecommons.org/wiki/NonCommercial_interpretation
Klimpel, P. (2019, December 17). Bearbeitungen frei lizenzierter Inhalte richtig kennzeichnen ['Properly label adaptations of freely licensed content']. OER info. https://doi.org/10.59350/q08m2-wnz22
Klimpel, P. (2021, September 16). Was das NC-Modul im Bildungskontext bedeutet ['What the NC module means in the educational context']. OER info. https://doi.org/10.59350/aefxk-7mr02
Wikimedia (2024, December 24). [Free Knowledge Based on Creative Commons Licenses: Consequences, Risks and Side-effects of the License Module "Non-commercial Use Only – NC". https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Free_knowledge_based_on_Creative_Commons_licenses
Handling Editor: Boris Naimushin, New Bulgarian University
Verified Editor Record on Publons