To support open access publishing initiatives, MacEwan University Library offers a hosting service for MacEwan University-affiliated open textbooks using Pressbooks software and reserves the right to determine the suitability of projects included on this platform.
These Terms of Use lay out mutually agreed upon responsibilities and duties of MacEwan University Library (hereafter referred to as ‘Library’) and MacEwan University faculty or staff members serving as open textbook project leads on this platform (hereafter referred to as ‘Project Lead’).
Roles and Responsibilities of Project Lead:
- Project Ownership: Assume responsibility for the open textbook project through to its completion.
- Copyright: Ensure that all content included within the open textbook project, including any third-party content, complies with MacEwan University’s Copyright Policy, the Grant MacEwan University Faculty Association Collective Agreement, and copyright guidance provided in the MacEwan Open Textbook Authoring Guide.
- Open License: Ensure that the resulting open textbook can be used, shared, or adapted without permission of the copyright owner in accordance with a Creative Commons license.
- Software Compatibility: Make all contents of this work, including any supplementary resources, in a format that is suitable to the hosting software supported by the Library.
- Accessibility: Adhere to accessibility standards that make the content available to all people regardless of sensory ability or disability affecting vision and/or hearing as detailed in the MacEwan Open Textbook Authoring Guide.
- Peer Review: Initiate peer-review and undertake any necessary revisions prior to the work’s completion, if creating a new open textbook or adapting substantial portions of an existing textbook.
- All projects undergoing peer-review must be reviewed in a manner suitable to disciplinary standards by a minimum of two subject matter experts.
Roles and Responsibilities of MacEwan University Library:
- Maintain Software: Maintain an installation of open textbook hosting software that enables free and unrestricted public access to published works via the Internet.
- Software Access: Provide the Project Lead with editable access to their published content in the hosting software for the life of this service.
- Software Orientation & Support: Provide basic orientation to software functionality and basic technical assistance to all contributors to this project.
- Copyright Guidance: Provide guidance on licensing and copyright management of content.
- Dissemination Support: Provide recommendations for disseminating and promoting completed open textbooks through, for instance, metadata harvesters, database indexing, and similar services.
- Preservation: Archive copies of completed original versions of open textbooks in appropriate formats in MacEwan University’s institutional repository (Research Online at MacEwan) to help ensure long-term preservation and access.
- Content Withdrawal: Remove content from the hosting software should a copyright or other dispute arise. Copyright-specific disputes could include disputes from publishers or other copyright holders, from copyright holders of embedded material, or from project contributors. The Library will engage the Project Lead should this issue arise.
Continuity of Project Stewardship
- The Library may remove incomplete or unpublished projects, and their associated user accounts, one year after the anticipated completion date if the Project Lead has not provided notice of plans to complete the work.
- If the Project Lead becomes unexpectedly unavailable, the Library will make reasonable efforts to consult with an identified contact person or estate representative about any major decisions affecting the Open Textbook publication.
Termination of Service
In the event of a decision to discontinue this open textbook hosting service by the Library, written notice will be provided to the Project Lead at least 3 months prior. Upon termination of this service, the Library reserves the non‐exclusive right to digitally archive content perpetually in any format to ensure long-term preservation and access. This does not include the right to sell the content or sell access to the content under any circumstances.