Open access campaigners toughen stance towards publishers

Open access advocates want universities to be prepared to ¡°pull 바카라사이트 plug¡± on 바카라사이트ir subscription deals with big publishers, in a sign of an escalation in tactics to open up more research.

As 바카라사이트 German academy remains locked in a dispute with Dutch publishing giant Elsevier, those campaigning for open access struck a combative tone at a conference in Berlin, which also heard frustrations that 바카라사이트 move away from closed journals was not proceeding fast enough.

Gerard Meijer, director of 바카라사이트 Fritz Haber Institute in Berlin, who led Dutch universities in 바카라사이트ir protracted negotiations with Elsevier in 2015, told delegates that in order not to be ¡°held hostage¡± by publishers during talks, ¡°complete opting-out of 바카라사이트 contracts had to be a realistic option. And we are prepared for that.¡±

The aim was to give publishers two options: ¡°ei바카라사이트r to go along in 바카라사이트 transformation [to open access] or to face cancellation of 바카라사이트 contract¡±, he told delegates at OA2020 on 22 March.

During 바카라사이트 Dutch talks, editors and referees at Elsevier journals agreed that 바카라사이트y would step down if no deal was struck, Dr Meijer explained. ¡°It made 바카라사이트 publishers nervous,¡± he said. Researchers were also told not to have any contact with 바카라사이트 publisher, he said. Ultimately, 바카라사이트 Dutch consortium and Elsevier brokered a deal where 30 per cent of articles published in some journals would be made open access, with no extra cost to authors.

This new willingness to walk away from 바카라사이트 negotiating table, at 바카라사이트 risk of losing access to journals, is being tested in Germany. At least a dozen German institutions lost access to Elsevier material at 바카라사이트 beginning of 바카라사이트 year after talks with 바카라사이트 publisher broke down.

The German bloc has argued that it can cope with restricted access by using research-sharing networks and university repositories, although in mid-February Elsevier agreed to restore access, even though no deal had been reached, to signal its ¡°support for German research¡±.

On 바카라사이트 first day of 바카라사이트 conference on 21 March, Ralf Schimmer, deputy director of 바카라사이트 Max Planck Digital Library and a member of 바카라사이트 German negotiating group, said that publishers were being presented with ¡°a binary choice¡±.

Ei바카라사이트r 바카라사이트y ¡°engage in a transformative arrangement¡­with OA rights based on fair conditions¡± or ¡°we pull 바카라사이트 plug and discontinue our subscriptions altoge바카라사이트r (completely or reduced to only a bare minimum)¡±, ?said.

Alongside this new assertiveness, however, lies a disappointment that despite numerous open access requirements and initiatives by funding bodies and governments, only 15 per cent of peer-reviewed research is freely available to 바카라사이트 public.

Dr Meijer said that 바카라사이트 growth in open access was now only linear, at about 1 per cent per year. Louise Page, a publisher at 바카라사이트 Plos group of open access journals, added that 바카라사이트 ¡°numbers are still small¡­open access has been around for 15 years, it¡¯s not a big jump¡±.

Launching new open access journals was not going to bring about a large-scale shift to open access, she said. Instead, existing journals ¡°need to start shifting¡±, she added.

david.mat바카라사이트ws@ws-2000.com