Abstract
In March 2021, the University of California (UC) and Elsevier announced a new so-called “transformative agreement” that included slightly discounted article processing charges as UC’s route to open access in Elsevier journals. Librarians and researchers expressed immediate concern that this deal upheld inequities in the research system. The UC/Elsevier deal, however, is just one of many that include expensive pay-to-publish structures. This commentary proposes an alternative contract between libraries and publishers that would enable wider reading and lower costs, called Read & Let Read. The three main points of a Read & Let Read deal include a half-dollar valuation of individual journal articles, prepayment on a university’s estimated usage, and an equal payment made for usage outside of the university. If a Read & Let Read deal were implemented at UC, UC would pay a slightly higher amount of money to Elsevier than they are expected to at present, and they would not flip any articles to open access. Instead, they would contribute toward a more equitably distributed system of scholarly readership.
Highlights
In March 2021, the University of California (UC) and Elsevier announced a new so-called “transformative agree ment” that included slightly discounted article processing charges as UC’s route to open access in Elsevier journals
The benefits of Read & Let Read deal (R&LR) outweigh those of transformative agreements
Flipping paywalled research to open access research is a noble goal, but paying article processing charges (APCs) to do so is an inefficient method toward universal access that benefits well-resourced institutions, thereby perpetuating inequality in the research system
Summary
The publisher will be asked to make their entire portfolio of articles eligible to prepayment at a half-dollar valuation, regardless of the journal. This must be insisted upon so that the insti tution/library can discontinue participation in mechanisms that may purposefully or inciden tally reinforce notions of journal prestige based on a brand or algorithm. Some methodologies may value articles from certain journals at considerably more (or less) than half a dollar, but the institution/library will pay one flat article cost. It will be in the interest of a publisher to provide a wide catalog to maximize the base amount (owing to download volume) for the contracted institution/library
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