Observations and perceptions of academic administrator influence on open access initiatives

Existing literature frequently covers the topic of open access from the perspectives of authors, librarians, or publishers. Investigations into the role of academic administrators, however, remain limited. Because librarians are uniquely positioned in the center of the scholarly communication ecosystem a survey of library directors was conducted to investigate the nature of any relationship between the actions of academic administrators and an institution's commitment to open access, as observed by librarians. Results indicate that, according to the perspective of librarians, as academic administrator attention to open access increases, open access activities of faculty and librarians also increase. Open access advocates should reflect upon the role of academic administrators and consider increasing efforts to gain the support of these individuals.