Open-Access / Electronic Archiving Policy

List of CBA Policies

The Catholic Biblical Association of America Open-Access Policy

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The Catholic Biblical Association of America (CBA) has established this open-access policy for authors whose work is published in the Catholic Biblical Quarterly (CBQ), the Catholic Biblical Quarterly Monograph Series (CBQMS), the Catholic Biblical Quarterly Imprints (CBQI), and the Biblical Studies from the Catholic Biblical Association of America (BSCBA). The goal of this policy is to make the CBA’s publications accessible to the widest possible audience, while
ensuring the CBA’s sustainability as a publisher.

In addition to these core principles of accessibility and sustainability, there are other factors that have provided the impetus for this policy: (1) the CBA’s recognition of authors’ rights to their scholarship; (2) the increased availability of scholarship in digital format; and (3) authors’ desire to make their scholarship available through personal or institutional web sites; (4) the CBA’s responsibility to honor its contractual obligations to academic databases, and (5) the CBA’s obligation to preserve the original final copy accepted for publication.

The CBA distinguishes between three versions of a manuscript, which represent different levels of its involvement in the work: 

• The original manuscript is the author’s version of the manuscript as it was originally
  submitted to CBQ, CBQMS, CBQI, or BSCBA, i.e., before the peer-review of the
  manuscript and without any revisions based on the peer-view. The CBA makes no claim
  to the original manuscript, which the author is free to disseminate however he or she
  chooses.
• The accepted manuscript is the version which has been reviewed by members of the
  CBQ, CBQMS, CBQI, or BSCBA editorial board and accepted for publication. Because
  this version includes revisions based on the results of the peer-review and because its
  content will comprise the final typeset version, the CBA requires an 18-month embargo
  after the publication of the typeset manuscript before the author may post the accepted
  manuscript or allow an Institution access to said material. After this embargo, the
  accepted manuscript may be posted to the author’s web site (personal or institutional) or
  to an Institutional Repository. This posting does not require any permission or
  notification. An Institution’s use of an author’s material (either for publication on
  websites or for repository purposes) is always dependent on the author’s permission
  which can be revoked by the author at any time.
• The typeset manuscript is the final published version that appears in the CBQ, CBQMS,
  CBQI, or BSCBA. At the author’s request, the CBA will provide a Portable Document
  Format (PDF) file of the typeset version (in the case of an edited volume, the editor[s]
  alone will receive the PDF), but this PDF is subject to the same provision listed above,
  including an18-month embargo after the manuscript’s publication. After this embargo,
  the typeset manuscript may be posted to the author’s web site (personal or institutional)
  or to an Institutional Repository. This posting does not require any permission or
  notification. Again, an Institution’s non-commercial use of an author’s material is always
  dependent on the author’s permission which can be revoked by the author at any time. 

 In summary:

1. The CBA retains the copyright of the accepted and final typeset material.
2. Authors have rights to their material (generally CBQ articles / OTA reviews) to publish to
websites (personal or institutional, including for archival purposes) as long as the conditions
listed in this document are adhered to. Republication with anyone other than the CBA is
forbidden.
3. After the 18-month period of embargo, the author is free to use the material as long as the
full and proper citation is given and the material is for non-commercial use only. No formal
permission is required from the CBA.
4. The CBA prohibits an author from authorizing a third-party to distribute the author’s
material.
5. An institution’s right to non-commercial use of an author’s material is dependent on the
permission of the author (as long as this permission is in compliance with the CBA’s policy).
This permission can be revoked by the author at any time.
6. This policy does not cover CBQMS, CBQI, or BSCBA publications. These works cannot be
republished or distributed under any form other than that formally approved by the CBA.
7. For commercial use of any material published by CBA, formal permission from the CBA is
required. The form is found at the CBA website under Publications.

(Revised July 2023)