Hear from a panel of experts—an acquisitions editor, a first-time book author, and an author rights expert—about the process of turning your dissertation into a book. You’ll come away from this panel discussion with practical advice about revising your dissertation, writing a book proposal, approaching editors, signing your first contract, and navigating the peer review and publication process.
This workshop will provide you with practical strategies and tips for promoting your scholarship, increasing your citations, and monitoring your success. You’ll also learn how to understand metrics, use scholarly networking tools, and evaluate journals and publishing options.
This workshop will provide you with practical guidance for navigating copyright questions and other legal considerations for your dissertation or thesis. Whether you’re just starting to write or you’re getting ready to file, you can use our tips and workflow to figure out what you can use, what rights you have as an author, and what it means to share your dissertation online.
Hear from a panel of experts—an acquisitions editor, a first-time book author, and an author rights expert—about the process of turning your dissertation into a book. You’ll come away from this panel discussion with practical advice about revising your dissertation, writing a book proposal, approaching editors, signing your first contract, and navigating the peer review and publication process.
Using AI and Text Mining with Library Resources: What Every UC Berkeley Researcher Needs to Know
Planning to scrape a website or database? Train an AI tool? Before you scrape and before you train, there are steps you need to take!
First, consult the general terms and conditions that you need to comply with for all Library electronic resources (journal articles, books, databases, and more) in the Conditions of Use for Electronic Resources policy.
Second, if you also intend to use any Library electronic resources with AI tools or for text and data mining research, check what’s allowed under our license agreements by looking at the AI & TDM guide. If you don’t see your resource or database listed, please e-mail tdm-access@berkeley.edu and we’ll check the license agreement and tell you what’s permitted.
Violating license agreements can result in the entire campus losing access to critical research resources, and potentially expose you and the University to legal liability.
Below we answer some FAQs.
Understanding the Basics
Where does library content come from?
Most of the digital research materials you access through the UC Berkeley Library aren’t owned by the University. Instead, they’re owned by commercial publishers, academic societies, and other content providers who create and distribute scholarly resources.
Think of using the Library’s electronic resources like watching Netflix: you can watch movies and shows on Netflix, but Netflix doesn’t own most of that content—they pay licensing fees to film studios and content creators for the right to make it available to you. So does the Library.
In fact, each year, the Library signs license agreements and pays substantial licensing fees (millions of dollars annually) to publishers like Elsevier, Springer, Wiley, and hundreds of other content providers so that you can access their journals, books, and databases for your research and coursework.
What is a library license agreement?
A license agreement is a legal contract between UC Berkeley and each publisher that spells out exactly how the UC Berkeley community can use that publisher’s content. These contracts typically cover:
Who can access the content (usually current faculty, students, researchers, and staff)
How you can use it (reading, downloading, printing individual articles)
What you can’t do (automated mass downloading, sharing with unauthorized users, making commercial uses of it)
Special restrictions (including rules about AI tools and text and data mining)
Any time you access a database or use your Berkeley credentials to log in to a resource, you must comply with the terms of the license agreement that the Library has signed. All the agreements are different.
Why are all the agreements different? Can’t the Library just sign the same agreement with everyone?
Unfortunately, no. Each publisher has their own standard contract terms, and they rarely agree to identical language. Here’s why:
Different business models: Some publishers focus on journals, others on books or datasets—each has different concerns
Varying attitudes toward artificial intelligence: Some publishers embrace AI research, others are more restrictive
Disciplinary variations: Publishers licensing content in different fields (e.g. business, data) typically offer different restrictions than those in other disciplines
Legal complexity: Text data mining and AI are relatively new, so contract language is still evolving
Can’t you negotiate better terms?
The good news is that the UC Berkeley Library is among global leaders in negotiating the very best possible terms of text and data mining and AI uses for you. We’ve set the stage for the world in terms of AI rights in license agreements, and the UC President has recognized the efforts of our Library in this regard.
Still, we can’t force publishers to accept uniform language, and we can’t guarantee that every resource allows AI usage. This is why we need to check each agreement individually when you want to use content with AI tools.
But my research is a “fair use”!
We agree. (And we’re glad you’re staying up-to-speed on copyright and fair use.) But there’s a distinction between what copyright law allows and how license agreements (which are contracts) affect your rights under copyright law.
Copyright law gives you certain rights, including fair use for research and education.
Contract law can override those rights when you agree to specific terms. When UC Berkeley signs a license agreement with a publisher so you can use content, both the University and its users (that’s you) must comply with those contract terms.
Therefore, even if your AI training or text mining would normally qualify as fair use, the license agreement you’re bound by might explicitly prohibit it, or place specific qualifications on how AI might be used (e.g. use of AI permissible; training of AI prohibited).
Your responsibilities
What do I have to do?
You should consult the general terms and conditions that you need to comply with for all Library electronic resources (journal articles, books, databases, and more) in the Conditions of Use for Electronic Resources policy.
If you also intend to use any Library electronic resources with AI tools or for text and data mining research, check what’s allowed under our license agreements by looking at the AI & TDM guide. If you don’t see your resource or database listed, then e-mail tdm-access@berkeley.edu and we’ll check the license agreement and tell you what’s permitted.
Do I have to comply? What’s the big deal?
Violating license agreements can result in losing access to critical research resources for the entire UC Berkeley community—and potentially expose you and the University to legal liability and lawsuits.
For the University:
Loss of access: Publishers can immediately cut off access to critical research resources for everyone on campus
Legal liability: The University could face costly lawsuits. Some publishers might claim millions of dollars worth of damages
Damaged relationships: Violations can harm the library’s ability to negotiate future agreements, or prevent us from getting you access to key scholarly content
This doesn’t just affect the University—it also affects you. Violating the agreements can result in:
Immediate suspension of your access to all library electronic resources
Legal exposure: You could potentially be held personally liable for damages in a lawsuit
Research disruption: Loss of access to essential materials for your work
How do I know if I’m using Library-licensed content?
The following kinds of materials are typically governed by Library license agreements:
Materials you access through the UC Library Search (the Library’s online catalog)
Articles from academic journals accessed through the Library
E-books available through Library databases
Research datasets licensed by the Library
Any content accessed through Library database subscriptions
Materials that require you to log in with your UC Berkeley credentials
What if I get the content from a website not licensed by the Library?
If you’re downloading or mining content from a website that is not licensed by the Library, you should read the website’s terms of use, sometimes called “terms of service.” They will usually be found through a link at the bottom of the web page. Carefully understanding the terms of service can help you make informed decisions about how to proceed.
Even if the terms of use for the website or database restrict or prohibit text mining or AI, the provider may offer an application programming interface, or API, with its own set of terms that allows scraping and AI. You could also try contacting the provider and requesting permission for the research you want to do.
What if I’m using a campus-licensed AI platform?
Even when using UC Berkeley’s own AI platforms (like Gemini or River), you still need to check on whether you can upload Library-licensed content to that platform. The fact that the University provides the tool doesn’t automatically make all Library-licensed content okay to upload to it.
What if I’m using my own ChatGPT, Anthropic, or other generative AI account?
Again, you still need to check on whether you can upload Library-licensed content to that platform. The fact that you subscribe to the tool doesn’t mean you can upload Library-licensed content to it.
Do I really have to contact you? Can’t I just look up the license terms somewhere?
We wish it were that simple, but the Library signs thousands of agreements each year with highly complex terms. We’re working on trying to make the terms more visible to you, though. Stay tuned.
In the meantime, check out the AI & TDM guide. If you don’t see your resource or database listed, then e-mail tdm-access@berkeley.edu and we’ll tell you what’s permitted.
Best practices are to:
Plan ahead: Contact us early in your research planning process
Be specific: The more details you provide, the faster we can give you guidance
Ask questions: We’re here to help, not to block your research
This guidance is for informational purposes and should not be construed as legal advice. When in doubt, always contact library staff for assistance with specific situations.
As UC Berkeley’s new academic year gets underway, the Library’s Scholarly Communication & Information Policy office stands ready to guide faculty, students, and staff through the complexities of copyright law and academic publishing. Through digital resources, virtual workshops, and one-on-one consultations, we’re excited to share what this semester has in store.
Workshops
Copyright and Your Dissertation
Date/Time: Tuesday, September 16, 2025, 11:00am–12:00pm RSVP to get the Zoom link
This workshop will provide you with practical guidance for navigating copyright questions and other legal considerations for your dissertation or thesis. Whether you’re just starting to write or you’re getting ready to file, you can use our tips and workflow to figure out what you can use, what rights you have as an author, and what it means to share your dissertation online.
Managing and Maximizing Your Scholarly Impact
Date/Time: Tuesday, October 14, 2025, 11:00am–12:00pm RSVP to get the Zoom link
This workshop will provide you with practical strategies and tips for promoting your scholarship, increasing your citations, and monitoring your success. You’ll also learn how to understand metrics, use scholarly networking tools, and evaluate journals and publishing options.
From Dissertation to Book: Navigating the Publication Process
Date/Time: Tuesday, November 18, 2025 (11:00am–12:30pm) RSVP to get the Zoom link
Hear from a panel of experts—an acquisitions editor, a first-time book author, and an author rights expert—about the process of turning your dissertation into a book. You’ll come away from this panel discussion with practical advice about revising your dissertation, writing a book proposal, approaching editors, signing your first contract, and navigating the peer review and publication process.
Other ways we can help you
In addition to the workshops, we’re here to help answer a variety of questions you might have on intellectual property, digital publishing, and information policy.
Have a question about copyright and artificial intelligence (AI) in relation to research and scholarship? Or your rights and responsibilities in using library-licensed materials for AI use? View the AI page on our website for guidance.
Interested in publishing your research open access? UCB Library can help defray the costs of an article processing charge (up to $2,500) or book processing charge (up to $10,000). See the Berkeley Research Impact Initiative (BRII) for more information. And explore the various UC-wide open access agreements and discounts that can help UC corresponding authors publish their scholarship open access.
Do you want to create an open digital textbook? Take a look at UC Berkeley’s Open Book Publishing platform (anyone with a @berkeley.edu email can sign up for a free account).
Keep an eye on the Library’s events calendar for more workshops and trainings.
Want help or more information? Send us an email at schol-comm@berkeley.edu. We can provide individualized support and personal consultations, online class instruction, presentations and workshops for small or large groups & classes, and customized support and training for departments and disciplines.
A variety of UC Berkeley-authored books published open access.
UC Berkeley supports a variety of ways our authors can participate in open access publishing. At its heart, open access literature is “digital, online, free of charge, and free of most copyright and licensing restrictions” (Suber, 2019). Open access materials can be read and used by anyone.
But you might be wondering, why is UC Berkeley concerned about trying to make research more openly available and accessible? Well, one fundamental reason is that the research and teaching mission of the UC includes the aim of “transmitting advanced knowledge,” and as part of doing that, our faculty, researchers, and students create and share their scholarship.
This system of scholarly publishing includes traditional publications such as peer-reviewed academic articles, scholarly chapters or books, and conference proceedings. It also includes other types of publications such as digital projects, data sets and visualizations, and working papers.
In this blog post, we’ll provide an update on how the UC Berkeley Library is fostering open access book publishing. And we’ll also highlight the current progress on supporting OA publishing of scholarly articles.
Library Support for Open Access Books
We know that not all University of California authors are publishing journal articles, and many disciplines—such as arts, humanities, and social sciences—focus on the scholarly monograph as the preferred mode of publishing. Some open access book publishers charge authors (or an author’s institution) a fee in exchange for publishing the book open access, similar to the practice of academic journal publishers charging an “article processing charge” to make a scholarly article open access.
Book authors can realize a variety of benefits with open access publishing, including increasing the reach of their scholarship, building relationships within their academic discipline, garnering more citations, making their scholarly books more affordable for students, improving accessibility for print-disabled users, and more.
UC Berkeley is supporting authors who wish to publish their books open access. The library provides funding assistance and access to publishing platforms and tools for UCB authors to make their books OA.
Berkeley Research Impact Initiative books
The Berkeley Research Impact Initiative (BRII) is a program to foster broad public access to the work of UCB scholars by encouraging the Berkeley community to take advantage of open access publishing opportunities—including books and journal articles. BRII is the local open access fund that helps defray the costs associated with publishing open access books and research articles. For books, BRII can contribute up to $10,000 per book for it to be published open access. Below are recent UCB-authored books published with the assistance of BRII.
UC Berkeley Library continues to support open access book publishing via Luminos, the open access arm of the University of California Press. The Library membership with Luminos means that UC Berkeley authors who have books accepted for publication through the UC Press can publish their book open access with a heavily discounted book processing charge. When combined with additional funding support through BRII, a UC Berkeley book author could potentially publish their book open access with the costs being covered fully by the Library. Luminos books are published under Creative Commons licenses with free downloads.
Pressbooks platform & workshops
The UC Berkeley Library hosts an instance of Pressbooks (https://berkeley.pressbooks.pub/), an online platform through which the UC Berkeley community can create open access books, open educational resources (OER), and other types of digital scholarship. The Scholarly Communication & Information Policy (SCIP) office continues to offer an annual Pressbooks workshop and demo where participants can learn how to navigate the platform and create and publish their own eBooks and OERs.
UC contributing to the broader ecosystem of open access book publishing
A FY2024-25 goal of the UC Libraries is to strategically advance open scholarship by extending its support for OA book publishing. At the systemwide level, the UC is supporting several open access book publishing ventures, including Opening the Future, MIT’s Direct to Open, the University of Michigan Press’ Fund to Mission, the Open Book Collective, and more. These models secure investments from libraries and other stakeholders, and agree to publish some or all of their frontlist books open access, with limited or zero direct cost to the authors. The backlist books are made accessible to participating institutions.
The UC is also pursuing three pilot projects—with University of California Press, Duke University Press, and Oxford University Press—to enable the OA publication of UC-authored monographs. California Digital Library has also sponsored the opening of 35 UC-authored books included in the Big Ten Open Books collections.
Library Support for OA Journal Publishing
While the topic of this post focuses mainly on open access books, UC Berkeley (and the UC more generally) offers a wide range of support to help authors publish scholarly articles. The UC’s system wide Open Access Policies ensure that university-affiliated authors can deposit their final, peer-reviewed research articles into eScholarship, our institutional repository, immediately upon publication in a journal. Once they’re in eScholarship, the articles may be read by anyone for free.
As of August 2025, the University of California has 28 system-wide Open Access Publishing Agreements and Discounts with scholarly publishers. These agreements permit UC corresponding authors to publish open access in covered journals, with the publishing fees being covered in part (or in full) by the UC. In fiscal year 2024-25 UC Berkeley authors published 1,032 open access articles as a part of these system wide open access publishing agreements.
Locally, the UC Berkeley Library continues to offer the Berkeley Research Impact Initiative (BRII). This program helps UC Berkeley authors defray article processing charges (APCs) that are sometimes required to publish in fully open access journals (note that BRII doesn’t reimburse authors for publishing in “hybrid” journals—that is, subscription journals that simply offer a separate option to pay to make an individual article open access). This past year BRII provided funding for the publication of 44 open access articles. UC Berkeley authors can take advantage of BRII assistance where there is no other system wide open access agreement in place.
Wrapping up
In this post, we highlighted several ways that the University of California—and specifically UC Berkeley—is supporting scholarly authors to create and share open access books. In addition to providing financial assistance, platforms, and publishing guidance, the Library is committed to promoting the broader OA book publishing ecosystem. We’ll continue to explore a variety of approaches to support the UC Berkeley community (and beyond) who wish to publish books on open access terms.
If you’re interested to learn more about how you can create and publish an open access book, visit our website or send an email to schol-comm@berkeley.edu.
Exploring Research at Scale with Web of Science XML Data
The Web of Science XML dataset now available for research, teaching, and learning at UC Berkeley.
This dataset is an essential tool for anyone exploring, evaluating, or visualizing global research activity. Drawing from over 12,500 journals across 254 disciplines in the sciences, social sciences, and humanities, this rich dataset includes not only journal articles, but also conference proceedings and book metadata—spanning back to 1900.
With more than 63 million article records and over 1 billion cited references, the dataset supports large-scale analysis of scholarly communication and impact. Key metadata elements include ORCID identifiers in over 6.2 million records to help disambiguate authors, detailed funding acknowledgments with grant numbers, and full author and institutional affiliations to support accurate attribution and collaboration analysis. Web of Science also standardizes institutional names to resolve naming variations, making cross-institutional analyses more reliable.
Researchers can access this data through flexible XML, allowing them to build complex citation networks, analyze research dynamics, and model trends over time. The dataset can be combined with other datasets for additional insights or used in visualization and statistical tools.
For research offices the dataset provides an opportunity to gain meaningful insights into the ever-evolving research landscape. With consistent indexing and global coverage, it’s a foundation for informed research strategy, evaluation, and discovery.
If you receive funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a recent policy update will impact how you publish and share your research.
Beginning on July 1, 2025, all author accepted manuscripts (defined below) accepted for publication in a journal must be submitted to PubMed Central (PMC), and will be made publicly available at the same time that the article is officially published, with no embargo allowed. The NIH’s 2024 Public Access Policy replaces the 2008 policy that permitted up to a 12-month embargo on public access.
Does the NIH Public Access Policy apply to you?
If your publication results from any NIH funding, including 1) grants or cooperative agreements (including training grants), 2) contracts, 3) other transactions, 4) NIH intramural research, or 5) NIH employee work, then the NIH public access policy applies to you.
What do you need to do?
The author accepted manuscript (AAM) must be deposited in the NIH Manuscript Submission System immediately upon acceptance in a journal. The AAM is “the author’s final version that has been accepted for journal publication and includes all revisions resulting from the peer review process, including all associated tables, graphics, and supplemental material.” The updated NIH Public Access Policy echoes the 2008 policy in that deposit compliance is generally achieved through submission of the AAM by the author or author’s institution to PubMed Central.
AAMs will be made publicly available in PubMed Central (NIH’s repository) on the official date of publication in the journal, with no embargo period.
According to the supplemental guidance on the Government Use License and Rights, accepting NIH funding means granting NIH a nonexclusive license to make your author accepted manuscript publicly available in PubMed Central. Authors are required to agree to the following terms:
“I hereby grant to NIH, a royalty-free, nonexclusive, and irrevocable right to reproduce, publish, or otherwise use this work for Federal purposes and to authorize others to do so. This grant of rights includes the right to make the final, peer-reviewed manuscript publicly available in PubMed Central upon the Official Date of Publication.”
The supplemental guidance also recommends that grantees should consider including the following NIH-recommended language in your manuscript submission to journals:
“This manuscript is the result of funding in whole or in part by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It is subject to the NIH Public Access Policy. Through acceptance of this federal funding, NIH has been given a right to make this manuscript publicly available in PubMed Central upon the Official Date of Publication, as defined by NIH.”
Will I be charged for publishing the AAM open access?
Depositing the AAM in PMC is free and fulfills your public access compliance obligations under the NIH Policy. (Note: Berkeley authors are also asked to submit the AAM to eScholarship to fulfill their obligations under the UC’s Open Access Policy.)
Authors are not required to pay an article processing charge (APC) to comply with this policy. However, the journal in which you are publishing may separately wish to charge you an APC for publishing open access through their own platform. You may be eligible to allocate some of your NIH grant funds to cover the journal’s APC. NIH has provided supplemental guidance regarding allowable publishing costs to include in NIH grants. In addition, the University of California continues to support publishing through open access publishing agreements. Through these and other local programs such as the Berkeley Research Impact Initiative, UC Berkeley authors have options for open access publishing with the UC Libraries covering some or all of the associated publishing fees. For questions about open access publishing options, please contact schol-comm@berkeley.edu.
What about data?
The NIH’s updated Public Access Policy combines with the already-in-place Data Management and Sharing Policy. That policy says that all NIH funded research that generates scientific data requires the submission of a Data Management and Sharing Plan as part of the grant proposal.
There is an expectation for researchers to maximize appropriate data sharing in established repositories. Data should be made accessible as soon as possible, and no later than the time of the associated publication or end of award, whichever comes first.
Where can I learn more?
Join UC Berkeley Library staff on Tuesday, June 10, 2025 from 1:00-2:00 pm on Zoom for an overview of the NIH Public Access Policy changes. The presentation will cover the key updates that take effect on July 1, 2025, including the mandatory manuscript submission to PubMed Central, how to navigate acknowledgement requirements, copyright and licensing, and the NIH data sharing requirements. You will also learn how the Library and other units on campus can provide ongoing support with the new policy. All registrants will receive a link to a recording of the session.
Do you have specific questions? Reach out to Anna, Elliott, or Tim.
Date/Time: Tuesday, April 8, 11:00am–12:00pm Location: Zoom. RSVP.
Are you wondering what processes, platforms, and funding are available at UC Berkeley to publish your research open access (OA)? This workshop will provide practical guidance and walk you through all of the OA publishing options and funding sources you have on campus. We’ll explain: the difference between (and mechanisms for) self-depositing your research in the UC’s institutional repository vs. choosing publisher-provided OA; what funding is available to put toward your article or book charges if you choose a publisher-provided option; and the difference between funding coverage under the UC’s systemwide OA agreements vs. the Library’s funding program (Berkeley Research Impact Initiative). We’ll also give you practical tips and tricks to maximize your retention of rights and readership in the publishing process.
