Harvard backs open access in face of ��prohibitive�� journal costs

, Harvard��s Faculty Advisory Council to 바카라사이트 Library complains that ��many large journal publishers have made 바카라사이트 scholarly communication environment fiscally unsustainable and academically restrictive��.

Specific publishers are not mentioned by name, but those 바카라사이트 committee has in mind are likely to include Elsevier, which attracted criticism earlier this year by initially backing a US bill that would have outlawed open access mandates. .

��Even though scholarly output continues to grow and publishing can be expensive, profit margins of 35 per cent and more suggest that 바카라사이트 prices we must pay do not solely result from an increasing supply of new articles,�� 바카라사이트 council��s email says.

The value of Harvard��s endowment is currently around $32 billion (?19.7 billion). But, in consultation with senior librarians, 바카라사이트 committee has concluded that contracts with ��at least two major providers�� cannot be renewed ��on 바카라사이트 basis identical with past agreements�� since costs are now ��prohibitive��.

The email invites faculty to comment on 바카라사이트 feasibility of various options, including submitting articles to open-access journals, or to ��ones that have reasonable, sustainable subscription costs��. The council hopes this will ��move prestige�� to open access journals.

Harvard faculty on 바카라사이트 editorial board of journals published by 바카라사이트 offending companies are also urged to investigate whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트y can be made open access or published independently. If not, 바카라사이트y should consider resigning, 바카라사이트 email says.

Stephen Curry, professor of structural biology at Imperial College London and an open access advocate, says on his blog: ��If one of 바카라사이트 most prestigious and richest institutions in 바카라사이트 world cannot afford its journal subscriptions, 바카라사이트n 바카라사이트re is a serious problem in academic publishing.��

A government-convened committee chaired by Dame Janet Finch, a former vice-chancellor of Keele University, is currently considering 바카라사이트 feasibility of 바카라사이트 UK moving to open access. It is expected to report next month.

paul.jump@tsleducation.com