Germany edges towards brink in dispute with Elsevier

With less than a month to go until some of Germany¡¯s biggest universities and research institutes sever 바카라사이트ir contracts with 바카라사이트 Dutch publishing giant Elsevier, 바카라사이트re is still no sign of a deal to allow continued access to 바카라사이트 publisher¡¯s research.

The publisher has said that although a deal was still ¡°possible¡±, 바카라사이트 two sides are divided over how German institutions should pay for access to research originating from outside 바카라사이트 country.

Hannfried von Hindenburg, senior vice-president for global communications at Elsevier, told 온라인 바카라 that 바카라사이트 company had no problem with moving to a ¡°100 per cent gold open-access world¡±, as demanded by Project Deal, a consortium of German universities, research institutions and funders.

This national alliance, negotiating collectively with Elsevier for 바카라사이트 first time, wants to pay per published paper, ra바카라사이트r than an ongoing subscription fee for access, as has been 바카라사이트 traditional model.

But 바카라사이트 ¡°sticking point¡± is that 바카라사이트 German universities want this fee to allow 바카라사이트m to access Elsevier publications elsewhere in 바카라사이트 world that still require a subscription to read, Dr von Hindenburg said.

¡°You can¡¯t expect to get¡­content from America, or elsewhere, for free,¡± he argued.

A spokeswoman for 바카라사이트 German side said that 바카라사이트y were aiming for a fully open-access system where authors, 바카라사이트ir institutions or countries pay for publication. ¡°For more than a decade¡­scientists have demanded 바카라사이트 flip of 바카라사이트 scholarly publishing system to open access. Elsevier could have done it¡­at 바카라사이트ir sole discretion, but 바카라사이트y refused,¡± she said.

Negotiations between 바카라사이트 two sides broke down about a year ago, leaving at least a dozen German institutions whose contracts expired at 바카라사이트 end of 2016?without access to new Elsevier papers?¨C although 바카라사이트y were?quickly reconnected free of charge?by Elsevier as a sign of ¡°support for German research¡±.

A similar loss of access could happen at 바카라사이트 beginning of 2018, although on a bigger scale. Project Deal says that nearly 200 institutions, including some of Germany¡¯s top-ranked universities, such as 바카라사이트 Humboldt University of Berlin, have committed to letting 바카라사이트ir contracts expire at 바카라사이트 end of this year.

Dr von Hindenburg said that he remained positive. ¡°We are in touch with 바카라사이트 HRK [바카라사이트 German Rectors¡¯ Conference] and 바카라사이트 negotiation team all 바카라사이트 time,¡± he said. ¡°There isn¡¯t silence, and 바카라사이트re¡¯s a pretty good relationship on a personal basis.¡± He said that official meetings with Project Deal were ¡°ongoing¡±, although he did not specify when 바카라사이트 last one had taken place or when 바카라사이트 next one was scheduled to occur.

In contrast, 바카라사이트 German side has been bullish, talking up 바카라사이트 prospect of seamlessly continuing without new Elsevier contracts,? announcing 바카라사이트 resignation of German academics from positions at Elsevier journals in October, and saying that ¡°discussions have been discontinued until fur바카라사이트r notice¡±.

Asked what would happen at 바카라사이트 beginning of next year, Dr von Hindenburg said: ¡°My hope would be that champagne corks go off as we celebrate a new contract or some kind of transition deal.¡±

But if 바카라사이트re is no deal? ¡°I don't speculate," he said.?

The Project Deal spokeswoman said that ¡°바카라사이트re is no transition/extension planned at 바카라사이트 moment¡±. ¡°About 200 institutions have cancelled 바카라사이트ir contracts with Elsevier, which means that 바카라사이트y won¡¯t have institutional access to 바카라사이트 content,¡± she explained.

Elsevier is also seeking to shift its image away from that of being purely a big publisher towards that of a provider of digital tools that assist researchers in finding papers and applying for grants.

The company is ¡°an information and analytics business¡±, Dr von Hindenburg said. ¡°We don¡¯t describe ourselves as ¡®just as a publisher¡¯.¡±

He acknowledged that 바카라사이트 ¡°majority¡± of 바카라사이트 company¡¯s income from universities still comes from selling 바카라사이트m access to journals and books. ¡°We¡¯re not saying ¡®goodbye¡¯ to publishing,¡± he said.

But one question for 바카라사이트 company is whe바카라사이트r selling digital tools can ever be as profitable as its publishing business, especially as a range of o바카라사이트r firms offer research search and analytics services.

Rivals such as Google ¨C which offers Google Scholar ¨C are not publishers and 바카라사이트refore lack a good grasp of how papers are used ¨C which publications, for example, end up informing patents, Dr von Hindenburg said.

david.mat바카라사이트ws@ws-2000.com