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The Economics of Open Access Publishing

The Economics of Open Access Publishing. LIBR 559L Larissa Halishoff March 19, 2008. Open Access. Open Access information is generally envisioned as free, digital literature available to anyone; essentially, open access is barrier-free access to information .

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The Economics of Open Access Publishing

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  1. The Economicsof Open Access Publishing LIBR 559L Larissa Halishoff March 19, 2008

  2. Open Access Open Access information is generally envisioned as free, digital literature available to anyone; essentially, open access is barrier-free access to information. However, “barrier-free” doesn’t mean cost-free, at least not for producers.

  3. The Traditional Model of Scholarly Journal Publishing Traditionally, subscription fees have been charged for print versions of the publication, on a flat rate per year. This model translated easily into the digital environment – fees were still charged for the publication which was now available in online form.

  4. However a scholarly communication system might be organized, it will always incur some unavoidable external costs. With online publishing, traditional costs stemming from print publishing are negated. However, online journals still incur fees in the publication of their journal.

  5. Peer review • Administrative and journal production • Online hosting and archiving • Open Access is not free of production costs, and a stable and reliable source of funds to cover these costs is required.

  6. So if no one is paying a subscription fee …where does the money come from? Case studies: PLoS BioMed Central Journal of Insect Science Physical Review B

  7. PLoS • Public Library of Science • Non-profit organization, with aim to develop a sustainable OA publishing operation • PLoS Biology • PLoS Medicine • PLoS Computational Biology • PLoS Genetics • PLoS Pathogens • PLoS ONE • PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases

  8. PLoS • As well as being a publisher, they are an OA advocate • Open Access to ideas • making papers freely available online provides you with the most current peer-reviewed scientific information and discoveries • Open Access to the broadest audiences • As a researcher, publishing in an open access journal allows anyone with an interest in your work to read it - and that translates into increased usage and impact

  9. PLoS • Stated goals • Give any scientist, physician, patient, or student - anywhere in the world - unlimited access to the latest scientific research. • Facilitate research … by making it possible to freely search the full text of every published article to locate specific ideas, methods, experimental results, and observations. • Enable the development of innovative ways to explore and use the world's treasury of scientific ideas and discoveries.

  10. PLoS • Fees recovered in part by charging a publication fee to the authors or research sponsor • Current fees $1250-2750 depending on the publication • There is a fee waiver in some cases: • authors who do not have funds to cover publication fees or who are from developing countries • Institutional Members

  11. PLoS • However, the model cannot be maintained by publication fees alone, and another means of financial revenue is necessary • At the outset, substantial backing from funders helped to start up PLoS • Now, PLoS also relies on sponsorship and advertising

  12. BioMed Central BioMed Central is an independent, for-profit publishing house that has stated its commitment to providing immediate open access to peer-reviewed biomedical research Offers 186 journals on a wide variety of topics, ranging from the Journal of Biology to Malaria Journal

  13. BioMed Central • Works on fee-paid model, with charges ranging from $500 to $2650 depending on the publication • Discounts if: • manuscripts submitted in Endnote, Reference Manager or Publicon • author has status as reviewer • author is from a developing country • author is member of supporting institution UBC is a supporting institution

  14. BioMed Central • The majority of BioMed Central's journals routinely waive charges for authors from low-income countries; the remainder consider waiver requests on the grounds of hardship on a case-by-case basis. • Authors from institutions that are members of BioMed Central do not have to pay the article-processing charge as it is covered by a payment from their institution.

  15. BioMed Central • BioMed Central is above all else a business, and operates as such • Subscription charges may be in place in certain cases • Advertising in place on site • Maintain their promise that access to all research will remain free. • Controversy in that their model goes against original OA principles.

  16. Journal of Insect Science • An international, open access, peer-reviewed journal publishing papers in all aspects of the biology of insects and other arthropods from the molecular to the ecological, and their agricultural and medical impact. • Published online by the University of Wisconsin Libraries, shared responsibilities among the faculty and library.

  17. Journal of Insect Science Guiding principle is that academic institutions should be involved in publishing scholarly work with as few impediments as possible to free access to information Call for Change posted on publisher’s website

  18. Journal of Insect Science • Charged to libraries on a shared cost, best-guess model of cost per article • Reasonable best-guess is $850/author per paper with no author charges • If 50 articles/year published = $42,500 • If 20 libraries subscribe = $2,125/year each • If 120 libraries subscribe = $354/year UBC is a subscriber

  19. Physical Review B • A journal of the American Physical Society, whose mission is to advance and diffuse the knowledge of Physics. • Strives to produce journals of the highest quality, and at the same time, to keep these journals accessible to researchers and students at institutions of all types and sizes, everywhere in the world, through ongoing efforts to reduce production costs and through policies such as tiered pricing and reduced-price or free subscriptions for developing countries.

  20. Physical Review B • Pricing structure based on tiered system, dependent upon the activities of the subscribing organization Tier 1: Academic base price $4615/year Tier 2: Research intensive $5665 Tier 3: Research intensive/corp./gov’t $6940 Tier 4: Large research institution $8095 Tier 5: Very large research institution $8640 Prices given for online access only UBC is subscriber

  21. What’s next ? Libraries are starting to emerge as centres of subsidization for OA publishing Berkeley Research Impact Initiative will subsidize fees for students and faculty who want to make their journal articles free immediately upon publication

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