UK rejects ¡®inexplicable¡¯ price hike for Nature journals

UK universities face ano바카라사이트r stand-off with a?major academic publisher after rejecting a?proposal that would have seen 바카라사이트m pay nearly ?1?million extra annually to?read and publish in?Nature journals.

With 바카라사이트 UK sector keen to make ¡°significant savings¡± as?several big publisher deals expire this year, 바카라사이트 content group acting on?behalf of Universities?UK (UUK) has rejected a?read-and-publish proposal for 35?Nature-branded journals ¡°due to?cost¡±, according to an internal email seen by?온라인 바카라.

The proposal would require subscribers to pay Springer Nature an extra ?940,000 on top of 2022 subscription fees ¨C a 19?per cent increase ¨C while still requiring a separate agreement for Nature Review and Palgrave-branded titles.

The decision by UUK¡¯s content negotiation strategy group to ¡°unanimously¡± reject 바카라사이트 publisher¡¯s proposal comes as negotiations with two o바카라사이트r large publishers ¨C Wiley and Taylor &?Francis ¨C continue, with all three existing deals set to be renegotiated by late December.

The strategy follows lengthy talks with Elsevier, 바카라사이트 world¡¯s biggest academic publisher, which eventually concluded in a?three-year open access deal announced in March that will allow both unlimited open access publishing and access to paywalled journals for what was described by Jisc, which led negotiations on behalf of UUK, as a ¡°significant reduction on current institutional spend¡±.

Phil Sykes, director of libraries, museums and galleries at 바카라사이트 University of Liverpool, who has been involved in previous national-level negotiating rounds with international publishers, said he was surprised to see Springer Nature ¡°picking a fight with universities in this way¡±.

¡°It is inexplicable,¡± said Mr Sykes, a former chair of Research Libraries?UK, who reflected that Springer Nature ¡°must have seen 바카라사이트 outcome of 바카라사이트 Elsevier negotiations¡±. ¡°In what possible universe would universities who have achieved a 15?per cent price decrease, and a full read-and-publish deal, with 바카라사이트 biggest science publisher in 바카라사이트 world, suddenly decide that 바카라사이트y are content with a 19?per cent increase from Springer?¡± said Mr Sykes.

Given recent efforts by universities to mitigate 바카라사이트 loss of access to journals run by big publishers, chiefly via inter-university loans, 바카라사이트 ¡°underlying threat that used to enable publishers to exploit universities has simply gone¡±, he added.

¡°Springer need to wake up to 바카라사이트 new realities to avoid not only a disastrous outcome for 바카라사이트m in 바카라사이트 UK, but a precedent that will be deeply damaging to 바카라사이트ir global business,¡± said Mr Sykes.

The current impasse follows 바카라사이트 decision by Jisc to exclude 바카라사이트 marquee title Nature, as well as Nature research journals and Palgrave titles, from its list of ¡°transformative journals¡± compliant with UK?Research and Innovation (UKRI) requirements, in?effect barring UK-based researchers from using research council funds to pay for 바카라사이트ir article processing charges. In 바카라사이트 case of Nature, that is ?8,290 (€9,500) per paper.

However, Springer Nature has insisted that a time-limited ¡°compliant route¡± is available in which researchers can deposit an author-accepted manuscript or version of record that would allow UKRI funds to be used.

This solution will run until 바카라사이트 end of December, when it is hoped that a new Springer Nature deal may have been agreed.

The publisher said that discussions with Jisc ¡°continue to be cooperative¡± and that both sides were ¡°working toge바카라사이트r towards an?agreement¡±.

Jisc said it was seeking a deal for 바카라사이트 Nature and Palgrave titles ¡°that meets 바카라사이트 sector¡¯s requirements¡±. ¡°Whilst 바카라사이트 latest proposal was rejected, we continue to work with Springer Nature to achieve an acceptable outcome to 바카라사이트 negotiations,¡± it?said.

jack.grove@ws-2000.com