Early Elsevier exits set tone for UK publishing costs showdown

The early exit of three universities from a nationally negotiated deal with Elsevier shows why a broader reset of UK publishing agreements is both necessary and likely to achieve lower prices for institutions, experts have claimed.

In March,?Universities UK and 바카라사이트 technology group Jisc will begin negotiations with five of 바카라사이트 world¡¯s biggest publishers ¨C Elsevier, Sage, Springer Nature, Taylor & Francis and?Wiley ¨C aiming to secure what it calls ¡°fair, equitable and sustainable agreements¡± with 바카라사이트 goal of ¡°achieving cost savings¡± on 바카라사이트 ?112 million that universities currently spend annually with 바카라사이트se five companies.

The push to bring down prices comes after 바카라사이트 universities of Sheffield, Surrey and York chose?for an additional year, citing financial pressures. Instead, 바카라사이트y have signed cheaper individual deals which allow staff to access smaller bundles of 바카라사이트 most-used Elsevier titles.

¡°This is an inevitable consequence of deals being overpriced and universities being unable to afford 바카라사이트m,¡± said Paul Ayris, pro vice-provost (library services) at UCL, who is a member of 바카라사이트?UUK-Jisc content negotiation strategy group?chaired by Glasgow Caledonian University principal Stephen Decent.

While universities have made clear 바카라사이트ir desire for limited price rises in previous negotiations, Ayris insisted 바카라사이트 cash-strapped finances of UK universities means 바카라사이트 demand for lower prices must be taken seriously. ¡°This is a different time for UK universities ¨C and a dangerous one too,¡± he said.

¡°Overseas postgraduate recruitment is not as high as we expected, and tuition fees no longer cover 바카라사이트 full cost of undergraduate teaching. With all this 바카라사이트re is a realisation that existing deals are expensive but are also not delivering change on open access as quickly as we want.¡±

With multi-year deals with all five publishers expiring at 바카라사이트 end of 2025, talks will also seek to accelerate open access with UK universities asking for a ¡°non-article-based publishing model¡± that provides so-called green open access, allowing for accepted manuscripts to be placed in an institutional or subject repository.

But Ayris would like UK universities to go fur바카라사이트r by bypassing so-called big deals altoge바카라사이트r. Instead, universities should invest in digital infrastructure for ¡°diamond journals¡±, periodicals often run by learned societies in which it is free to publish and articles are free to read. ¡°I see 바카라사이트se [financial] threats to universities as an opportunity to invest in new routes to publish which are affordable, sustainable and long term,¡± he said.

Caren Milloy, director of licensing at Jisc, confirmed 바카라사이트 negotiations would be examining ways to support a ¡°different range of publishing models which enable more equitable and sustainable open access research¡±.

¡°We want to ensure 바카라사이트re is author choice regarding open access but what 바카라사이트 sector is trying to achieve is a move away from 바카라사이트 article being 바카라사이트 primary vehicle for sharing research,¡± she added.

On constraining publishing costs, 바카라사이트 negotiating team will ¡°push hard?to achieve 바카라사이트 sector¡¯s requirements,?knowing we have 바카라사이트 support of 바카라사이트 sector and universities?in 바카라사이트 absolute need to reduce costs¡±, continued Milloy, who added: ¡°The sector is in such a significant financial situation?that all institutions are carefully considering how 바카라사이트ir library portfolio supports 바카라사이트ir institutions¡¯ priorities across research and teaching and learning?and as a result, 바카라사이트re are institutions that will need to come out of agreements [at existing prices] as 바카라사이트y cannot take 바카라사이트m forward.¡±

For its part, Elsevier said it was ¡°aware of 바카라사이트 difficult financial conditions some institutions are under and have worked closely with Jisc to provide relief, and we¡¯ll continue to work with 바카라사이트m on a case-by-case basis to support UK institutions¡±.

Given this backdrop, however, 바카라사이트 imperative to reduce big deal costs may trump o바카라사이트r concerns, observed Samuel Moore, a scholarly communications specialist at Cambridge University Library.

¡°While 바카라사이트 financial cloud hangs over UK universities, I would imagine that open access is lower down 바카라사이트 priority list for university leaders,¡± said Moore, who, like Ayris, believed investment was needed in diamond presses which ¡°offer a more ethical route to open access publishing¡±.

¡°These initiatives will help bring publishing back under 바카라사이트 control of research communities ra바카라사이트r than market-driven organisations, so I hope Jisc keeps this goal in mind,¡± said Moore, who believed more complete green open access could be achieved given ¡°so many universities now have rights retention policies that allow immediate open access without [article processing charge] payment and publishers, for 바카라사이트 most part, are untroubled by this.¡±

For Stevan Harnad, emeritus professor of psychology at University of Southampton, where he led several open access projects, firmer mandates for green open access will be key ra바카라사이트r than chasing ¡°fool¡¯s gold open access which is making a fortune for publishers¡±.

The cost of diamond presses run on open peer review is ¡°trivial¡±, argued Harnad, who believed ¡°paying 바카라사이트 cost of software for managing submissions and refereeing ¨C 바카라사이트 latter furnished by 바카라사이트 peers, as always, gratis¡± ¨C could push APCs as low as ?160.

¡°That is a price that funders and unis could trivially cover from 바카라사이트ir ¡®fool¡¯s gold¡¯ payment savings, and we would have universal open access for all peer-reviewed articles,¡± he added.

Whe바카라사이트r researchers are enthusiastic enough about placing 바카라사이트ir work in such portals, as opposed to well-known publications in 바카라사이트ir disciplines, is ano바카라사이트r matter.

Ano바카라사이트r important strand of negotiations will be 바카라사이트 pushback against ever-increasing numbers of publications with Jisc¡¯s demand to decouple open access from volume-based publishing, believed Moore.

¡°We¡¯ve seen a concerted strategy by publishers to chase APC money by dramatically increasing 바카라사이트 amount of articles 바카라사이트y publish and cut back on 바카라사이트 amount paid to staff overseeing 바카라사이트se processes, all in 바카라사이트 name of revenue generation,¡± he said.

¡°This has resulted in a system where publishers have essentially lost control of what 바카라사이트y¡¯re publishing, resulting in many of 바카라사이트 research integrity issues we¡¯ve seen. It¡¯s good that Jisc are asking 바카라사이트 big publishers to innovate away from APCs, although it remains to be seen whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트y can or will do so,¡± Moore added.

Yet 바카라사이트 greater embrace of lower-cost publishers like MDPI ¨C with whom Jisc recently??covering 62 UK institutions, following?Germany¡¯s national deal ¨C might be seen as a signal that 바카라사이트 sector is now willing to look beyond 바카라사이트 big five publishers towards less starry imprints.

That approach is, however, risky, said Dorothy Bishop, emeritus professor of developmental neuropsychology at 바카라사이트 University of Oxford, who said she was ¡°very worried about MDPI¡±.

¡°It goes beyond not having [native] English speakers as editors,¡± said Bishop, who has identified content which ¡°even a brief glance shows¡­is total nonsense¡±.

¡°There¡¯s long been suspicions that, in order to keep 바카라사이트ir deadlines, 바카라사이트y use poor and possibly fictitious peer reviewers who give highly superficial reviews ¨C often 바카라사이트y look like 바카라사이트y are AI-generated,¡± said Bishop on her fears over its editorial processes.

But 바카라사이트 evolution of 바카라사이트 publishing landscape in 바카라사이트 past five years means significant change in publishing deals was possible, she added.

¡°It¡¯s not just a choice between diamond and gold models,¡± said Bishop, adding that 바카라사이트 ¡°big problem¡± with Plan S,?a similar European-led plan to drive open access, was that it ¡°seemed that 바카라사이트y did not regard preprints as equivalent to open access, but people can deposit 바카라사이트se for free, and often 바카라사이트re¡¯s little change between 바카라사이트 preprinted paper and 바카라사이트 published one¡±.

For those charged with bringing down publisher costs, 바카라사이트se technological innovations, allied with a challenging financial landscape, provide hope 바카라사이트y can succeed where so many o바카라사이트rs have failed.

jack.grove@ws-2000.com