Journal Copyright Policy

URISA Journal Copyright Policy:
A Policy Designed to Further the Advancement of Knowledge and Science

A distinguishing factor setting apart the URISA Journal from most other academic journals in the information systems field is that authors are not required to give up exclusive rights in their intellectual work to the publisher. Authors publishing in the URISA Journal retain full but non-exclusive rights in their articles. As of the 1999 issues, authors grant the URISA Journal an exclusive right of first publication in their article plus an accompanying grant of non-exclusive full rights. This grant means that URISA is free to use the article in any manner it sees fit in future publications but the author as well retains this right. Thus if the author wishes to reproduce the published article for students, post it on a web-page, sell personal copies, or even publish the article a second time with another publisher, the author may do so without obtaining permission from URISA provided that full and appropriate credit for first publication in the URISA Journal is provided in any subsequent electronic or print publications.

While commercial companies best make progress through exclusivity and control, the URISA Journal editors believe that science and new knowledge is best advanced through an intellectual environment of openness and freedom to build upon the works of those who came before. Academic scholars and scientists need the freedom to make their ideas, concepts, data, and research results freely and thoroughly accessible through every means possible in order to allow open discussion, critique, and intellectual exchange. This is how knowledge and science advance. To this end, we encourage the broadest dissemination of intellectual works and this is ensured through non-exclusive copyright arrangements.

In exchange for allowing the retention of author ownership rights in their published articles, the URISA Journal requires that authors not submit their works to other publishers for review while the article is proceeding through the URISA peer review process. However, the URISA Journal has no objection to the posting of a submitted article on a university, government or non-profit organization web site with the author’s permission while the article is being peer reviewed by URISA. In fact we encourage this action so that your work and ideas may be made available to others in as timely a manner as possible. As such, when you submit an article to the URISA Journal. unless you inform us otherwise, we will typically post the submitted article on the URISA web site under the heading "Articles Currently Under Peer Review by the URISA Journal."

Through submission of articles to academic journals that allow authors substantial retention of rights in their articles, authors help to stem the spiraling high costs of hard copy and electronic academic journals. The high cost of academic journals has become a major problem for university and community libraries across the nation and the world. Due to its new copyright policy, URISA will be continually forced to keep the pricing of its hard copy journal reasonable because, if it does not, authors may make their recent works available to libraries and subscribers directly or through competing publishers. Thus a very substantial means for combating the continually rising costs of academic journals is for authors to choose to publish in journals that grant them unbridled future control of their own works.

Finally, we encourage all authors to become members of URISA. Because URISA will not have a monopoly over the use of your articles in the future and will be helping to keep the cost of academic journals reasonable and competitive, it needs your support as a member of the organization. In addition to gaining the other numerous benefits of membership, you will have the satisfaction of knowing when paying your annual dues that your professional organization is a leader in striving towards the ideal of openness in the advancement of science and new knowledge.

Copyright Agreement Form in .pdf Format