To gain a better understanding of the current landscape of article sharing through scholarly collaboration networks (SCNs) and sites, the STM Association conducted an open consultation across the scholarly community in early 2015. The aim of this consultation was to facilitate discussion by all stakeholders in order to establish a core set of voluntary principles that clarify how, where and what content should be shared using these networks and sites, and to improve this experience for all. The hope for this initiative is for publishers and scholarly collaboration networks to work together to facilitate sharing, which benefits researchers, libraries, institutions, and society as a whole.

The first round of consultation resulted in a set of voluntary principles that have been posted on a new website called “How Can I Share It”. CHORUS is pleased to endorse these principles and applauds the cross-industry collaboration behind this initiative.