UK Signals Move Away from Journal Subscription Model
Negotiator says universities 'no longer willing to pay' big publishers without significant step towards open access.
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No Amount of Open Access Will Fix the Broken Job Market
Open access has always been promoted for its reputational benefits. The OA citation advantage is one way in which advocates try to convince researchers of the benefits of publicly sharing their work. But researchers are also motivated by the need to publish in prestigious and ‘high-impact’ venues, which often precludes the possibility of open access forms of publication.
BISG Releases White Paper on Open Access Ebook Usage
The Book Industry Study Group (BISG) has published a white paper on “Exploring Open Access Ebook Usage”.
How Former Elsevier Editors Started a Community-led Publisher and Launched Their First OA Journal
How Former Elsevier Editors Started a Community-led Publisher and Launched Their First OA Journal
After serving as editor-in-chief of an Elsevier journal for over seven years, Lajos Balogh decided to channel his publishing knowledge to a new endeavor. He and a group of fellow editors started a publishing organization and journal of their own.
Common Struggles: Policy-based Vs. Scholar-led Approaches to Open Access in the Humanities
Common Struggles: Policy-based Vs. Scholar-led Approaches to Open Access in the Humanities
The thesis argues that the UK governmental policy framework promotes a form of OA that intends to minimise disruption to the publishing industry. The scholar-led ecosystem of presses, in contrast, reflects a diversity of values and struggles that represent a counter-hegemonic alternative to the dominant cultures of OA and publishing more generally.
Sustainable Open-Access Model for Monographs
A project that aims to slash the cost of producing monographs could help make more of them available to the public for free. But will scholars participate?
Elsevier Strikes Its First National Deal with Large Open-access Element
Agreement with Norwegian consortium allows researchers to make the vast majority of their work free to read on publication in Elsevier journals.
New Preprint: Scholar-Led Publishing and the Pre-History of the Open Access Movement
New Preprint: Scholar-Led Publishing and the Pre-History of the Open Access Movement
There is an often-neglected pre-history of open access that can be found in the early DIY publishers of the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, including involvement of the humanities and social sciences. Policymakers are advised to keep in mind this separate lineage in the history of open access as the movement goes mainstream.
Swiss Consortium Pledges 216,000 Eur to DOAJ and SHERPA/RoMEO
The Consortium of Swiss Academic Libraries, comprising sixteen libraries and the Swiss National Science Foundation, is the third national consortium to commit to the SCOSS initiative.
Elsevier Agrees to First Read-and-Publish Deal
A Norwegian consortium has signed a new kind of subscription deal with Elsevier that includes open-access publishing - a first for the publisher. But the new rights come at a cost.
It's 2019. Academic Papers Should Be Free.
Libraries and funding agencies are finally flexing their muscles against journal paywalls. Authors should follow suit.
Researcher to Reader (R2R) Debate: Is Sci-Hub Good or Bad for Scholarly Communication?
Researcher to Reader (R2R) Debate: Is Sci-Hub Good or Bad for Scholarly Communication?
Transcript of a debate held at the 2019 Researcher to Reader Conference, on the resolution 'Sci-Hub Does More Good Than Harm to Scholarly Communication.'
Open Access Publishing: New Evidence on Faculty Attitudes and Behaviors
On Friday, Ithaka S+R released the latest cycle of our long-standing US Faculty Survey which has tracked the changing research, teaching, and publishing practices of higher education faculty members on a triennial basis since 2000. Here, some of the key findings around open access are higlighted. Especially among early career researchers, real-world incentives remain misaligned — and indeed appear to be moving further out of alignment — with the drive towards open access.
Open Access: 'no Evidence' That Zero Embargo Periods Harm Publishers
Debate around embargo periods heightens as Plan S deadline draws near. "Embargoes are just there to serve the interests of the publishers” says Robert-Jan Smits, the former lead architect of Plan S who is now president of Eindhoven University of Technology.
Launch of the Global Alliance of Open Access Scholarly Communication Platforms to Democratize Knowledge
Launch of the Global Alliance of Open Access Scholarly Communication Platforms to Democratize Knowledge
A new momentum is emerging in the dissemination of scientific knowledge worldwide. The GLOALL carries a vision to promote the development of multilingual scholarly communication standards, products and services.
What Are Mirror Journals, and Can They Offer a New World of Open Access?
A pilot program gives authors another way to publish OA while enjoying the benefits of an established journal.
Most European Universities Failing to Monitor Open Access Costs
Survey finds that European institutions have open access policies in place - but far fewer have specific targets systems to check their progress.
The Two-Way Street of Open Access Journal Publishing: Flip It and Reverse It
The Two-Way Street of Open Access Journal Publishing: Flip It and Reverse It
As Open access is often perceived as the end goal of scholarly publishing, much research has focused on flipping subscription journals to an OA model. Focusing on what can happen after the presumed finish line, this study identifies journals that have converted from OA to a subscription model, and places these “reverse flips” within the greater context of scholarly publishing.
Insights into the Economy of Open Scholarship: A Look into the Open Library of Humanities
Insights into the Economy of Open Scholarship: A Look into the Open Library of Humanities
Martin Paul Eve, Co-director and Co-founder the Open Library of Humanities was interviewed as part of the Insights into the Economy of Open Scholarship collection of interviews.
Highly Profitable Medical Journal Says Open Access Publishing Has Failed. Right.
The New England Journal of Medicine just published an editorial saying open access publishing isn't necessary, because they already make most of their content free. What are they so worried about?
American Chemical Society and Max Planck Institutes Partner on Transformative Open Access Plan
American Chemical Society and Max Planck Institutes Partner on Transformative Open Access Plan
American Chemical Society: Chemistry for Life.
French ISPs Ordered to Block Sci-Hub and LibGen
The High Court of Paris has ordered several of the largest French ISPs to block access to the pirate libraries LibGen and Sci-Hub. The decision is a setback for the sites that have come under increasing pressure.
Research Excellence Framework must 'bring Hammer Down' on Open Access Books
Research Excellence Framework must 'bring Hammer Down' on Open Access Books
Implementing the mandate for open access monographs will be complex but that is the price of 'being the leader', says Cameron Neylon.
Paywalls Block Scientific Progress. Research Should Be Open to Everyone
To democratise scholarly publishing, individual academics need to take action.
To Gather Insights into Open Rewards and Incentives, Survey Targets 200 European Funders
To Gather Insights into Open Rewards and Incentives, Survey Targets 200 European Funders
This week, SPARC Europe, in consultation with ALLEA, The European Foundation Centre (EFC) and Science Europe, sent surveys to almost 200 funding bodies throughout Europe.
Emerging Trends in the Academic Publishing Lifecycle
The academic publication lifecycle has undergone radical changes over the past several years. These changes have a significant impact on how scholarship will be written, published, promoted, and read in the future.
As Elsevier Falters, Wiley Succeeds in Open-Access Deal Making
The divergent strategies of scholarly publishers to forge licensing agreements with libraries are yielding different results.
Standing Up To Be A Force Of Change: Q&A with Joe Lucia of Temple University - SPARC
Open Letter from History Journal Editors in Response to Consultation on Plan S
Open Letter from History Journal Editors in Response to Consultation on Plan S
Concerns about some key aspects of Plan S and about their workability in practice, particularly within the landscape of the Humanities, are presented, along with a call for closer consideration of the differential impacts and possible unintended consequences of the ambitious plans laid out in the Guidance document.
An Interview With the Plan S Implementation Committee's David Sweeney
'My question for those who say it's too tight a time scale,' says Plan S task force co-chair David Sweeney, 'is how long do you want?'
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