Open Science

Your guide to Open Access publishing and Open Science

Tag: Costs
Petri Art, the Wellcome Trust, London, England, UK, February 28, 2009 | © Courtesy of gwire/Flickr.

Though the Plan S May Significantly Affect Open Access Journals, it Can also Reduce the Publishing Market Concentration

As a formal complaint over the anti-competitive impact of Elsevier, a globally dominant scientific publisher, on the journal publishing market has been placed with the European Commission, such as due to the lacking transparency of its pricing practices, the Plan S is likely provide incentives to scholarly journals to change their models in the direction of making publication costs visible upfront in the Open Access sector. A Blog Article by Pablo Markin. In late October, 2018, the RELX Group, which holds Elsevier as part of its portfolio, was complained against, e.g., by the paleontologist Jonathan Tennant and the neurobiologist Björn […]

Use of Colour, Library and Learning Centre, UEL, Greater London, England, UK, September 21, 2006 | © Courtesy of Jisc infoNet /Flickr.

As the United Kingdom Embraces Open Science, its Academic Network Signs an Agreement to Boost Open Access Journals

On October 4, 2018, Jisc Collections, a non-profit organization that negotiates the terms of access to electronic resources of British higher education and research institutions, has signed a comprehensive agreement with De Gruyter that is expected to facilitate a transition to Open Access in the sector of article and journal publishing. A Blog Article by Pablo Markin. In the framework of the agreement between Jisc and De Gruyter, research universities and institutes of the United Kingdom (UK) will be receiving access to De Gruyter journals, while transitioning their article publishing processes to Open Access. Since this agreement represents an institutional […]

At the library, Haidhausen, Munich, Bavaria, Germany, January 7, 2013 | © Courtesy of Foto Schlachthof/Flickr.

Open Access May Involve Hidden Costs for Journal Publishers, as Conflicts over Subscription Agreements Indicate

Elsevier’s hard line in negotiations with German and Swedish universities over journal access and publishing contracts can follow from the limited financial attractiveness of Gold Open Access in the long term. A Blog Article by Pablo Markin. Since late July, 2018, Elsevier had cut off German university libraries that have failed to reach a satisfactory agreement with this publisher to its journal databases. Whereas a conglomerate of German scientific organizations and academic institutions has been unsuccessfully discussing with Elsevier the terms of its futures subscription contract since 2016, this situation could stem from several factors that give this publisher cold […]

Grand Reading Hall, Library, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA, June 23, 2008 | © Courtesy of Catherine Shyu/Flickr.

University Libraries May Face Budget Constraints and Low Efficiency, Unless Transitions to Open Access are Outsourced

While universities seek the inclusion of Open Access into their journal subscription deals with large publishers, such as Elsevier, they may underappreciate the market-wide and budget-related impact of consequential transitions to Open Access. A Blog Article by Pablo Markin. In their recent report, made public in February, 2018, University of California Libraries have examined possible avenues for transitioning to Open Access. However, the sustainability of Open Access publishing models has not received sufficient attention in this report, as these libraries are both clients and providers of Open Access solutions, such as pre-print repositories. This especially applies to Green Open Access, […]

A Graduation Ceremony at Rutgers University, 2010, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA, May 17, 2010 | © Courtesy of llee_wu/Flickr.

Open Access Journals, Rather Than Reviewer Fees, are Likely Instrumental for Changing Power Relations in the Publishing Industry

Recent criticisms of the market power that major journal publishers have underestimate the disruptive potential of Open Access to change the power relations between university libraries and publishing houses, as putting a price tag on purportedly unpaid labor of authors and reviewers will likely reinforce the market positioning of the global players in the publishing market, while pushing journal subscription fees ever higher. A Blog Article by Pablo Markin. In their opinion piece for Canada’s University Affairs/Affaires Universitaires magazine published on February 26, 2018, Adriane MacDonald and Nicole Eva present a vision of the academic world where scholars, professors and […]

The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia, April 17, 2017 | © Courtesy of Mark 爱生活.

Over 50% of Newly Published Paywall-Protected Research Fails to Be Consulted, which Makes Open Access Increasingly Attractive

As Australia seeks to increase the efficiency of the investment it makes into scientific research, Open Access promises to maximize its benefits. While across disciplines previously published articles are likely to be referenced to various extents, some studies indicate that up to 50% of all scientific papers published are never read except by authors, referees and editors and that around 90% of articles are never cited. This further strengthens the case in favor of transitioning from subscription-based models to Open Access ones. A Blog Article by Pablo Markin. Given that subscription-based publication models not only tend to lock up access […]