Abstract
The growth of open access (OA) via the payment of article processing charges (APCs) in hybrid journals has been a key feature of the approach to OA in the UK. In response, Jisc Collections has been piloting ‘offsetting agreements’ that explicitly link subscription and APCs, seeking to reduce one as the other grows. However, offsetting agreements have become increasingly contentious with institutions, advocates and publishers. With reference to issues such as cost, administrative efficiency, transparency and the transition to open access, this paper provides an update on the status of UK negotiations, reflects on the challenges and opportunities presented by such agreements, and considers the implications for the path of future negotiations.
Highlights
The growth of open access (OA) via the payment of article processing charges (APCs) in hybrid journals has been a key feature of the approach to OA in the UK ever since the release of the Finch Report and its subsequent acceptance by the UK government, and the Research Councils UK (RCUK) OA policy with its stated preference for gold OA
In order to help UK institutions manage the increase in costs resulting from the combined cost of journal subscriptions and APCs, Jisc Collections has been piloting ‘offsetting agreements’ that explicitly link subscription and APC payments, seeking to reduce one as the other grows
Whilst we in Jisc Collections had undertaken negotiations for journals and OA for a number of years, we had never sought to negotiate on the combined cost of subscriptions and APCs in ‘big deals’
Summary
The growth of open access (OA) via the payment of article processing charges (APCs) in hybrid journals has been a key feature of the approach to OA in the UK ever since the release of the Finch Report and its subsequent acceptance by the UK government, and the Research Councils UK (RCUK) OA policy with its stated preference for gold OA. In order to help UK institutions manage the increase in costs resulting from the combined cost of journal subscriptions and APCs, Jisc Collections (in common with groups in some other countries) has been piloting ‘offsetting agreements’ that explicitly link subscription and APC payments, seeking to reduce one as the other grows. In the UK, Jisc Collections has made some progress implementing such agreements with a number of publishers of various sizes. This progress has been against a background where the concept of offsetting has itself become increasingly contentious. Has been piloting “offsetting agreements” that in the administration and implementation of OA Such explicitly link agreements are flawed through their implicit acceptance and subscription and APC strengthening of the current costly and opaque market for journal subscriptions. The views expressed are those of the author and do not reflect the views of Jisc
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