scholarly journals Future Challenges and Opportunities in Academic Publishing

2017 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyle Siler
Keyword(s):  
Open Access ◽  
Scholarly Publishing ◽  
Open Access Publishing ◽  
Academic Publishing ◽  
University Administrators ◽  
Access Problem ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Future Challenges ◽  
Academic Communication ◽  
Intellectual Movements

Digitization and the rise of Open Access publishing is an important recent development in academic communication. The current publishing system exhibits challenges with cost, where many universities are forced to cancel journal subscriptions for economic reasons, as well as access, as scholars and the public alike often lack access to research published in paywalled subscription journals. Open Access publishing solves the access problem, but not necessarily cost problems. Universities and researchers are currently in a challenging, interstitial stage of scholarly publishing. Subscription journals still dominate scholarly communication, yet a growing imperative to fund and support Open Access alternatives also exists. Stakeholders, including faculty, university administrators, publishers, scientific funding institutions and librarians and governments alike currently strategize and fight for their professional and economic interests in the broader publishing system. Four main trends are suggested that will characterize the future of scholarly publishing: 1) antagonism with scholarly associations; 2) changes and innovations to peer review; 3) Scientific/Intellectual Movements around Open Access 4) publishing and new professional niches in the publishing landscape. This article suggests potential trajectories and outcomes for these various conflicts over the costs and benefits of academic publishing.

scholarly journals Cost of Open access publishing in the light of global developments in scholarly publishing: Springer’s Open access initiative

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan Friedman
Keyword(s):  
Open Access ◽  
Scholarly Publishing ◽  
Biomed Central ◽  
Alternative Methods ◽  
Open Access Publishing ◽  
Impact Factors ◽  
Academic Publishing ◽  
Steady Increase ◽  
Open Access Journals ◽  
Wide Range

>> See video of presentation (25 min.)BioMed Central is the open access publisher who pioneered this publishing model and has been part of Springer since 2008. We launched our first journal in the year 2000, and have since seen several positive global developments which have helped establish open access as an important trend in the evolvement of scholarly communication.  We have consequently observed a steady increase in awareness of open access and specifically, of our wide range of specialist as well as broad interest titles which is reflected in our growing submission numbers.BioMed Central as one of the main open access publishers has helped to establish open access as a new way of making academic research available to researchers and the public, and to introduce a change of the subscription business model in academic publishing and libraries. While BioMed Central also offers a solution for the Green Route of open access (“Open Repository”) the main part of our publishing activity is centred around our fully or “gold” open access journals. BioMed Central and SpringerOpen practise the “author pays” model, whereby the author is asked to pay a fee to cover the publisher’s cost of publishing and distributing the article. While the awareness of open access is growing among the academics, there is still uncertainty among many of how open access works and why they are asked to pay a fee. To cover that fee can still be a major obstacle for a researcher attempting to publish an article in an open access journal, as the SOAP report stated in 2011.I will present an analysis of the most recent open access developments and studies globally; as well as the effect that this has had on a number of factors that play a role in scholarly publishing, such as Impact Factors, citations and awareness of open access among academics. I will give an update on BioMed Central and Springer’s own development in the arena of open access and visibility of research, including  experimenting with alternative methods of evaluating research such as Altmetric and the SCImago Journal & Country Rank.  I will conclude with an overview of how we are working with research organisations and universities to offer financial support to their researchers in order to cover the fee for publishing in BioMed Central and SpringerOpen journals in the context of our institutional membership program.

Scholarly communication in the digital environment

2005 ◽  
Vol 57 (6) ◽  
pp. 481-497 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Rowlands ◽  
David Nicholas
Keyword(s):  
Open Access ◽  
Scholarly Communication ◽  
Open Access Publishing ◽  
Substantial Contribution ◽  
Disciplinary Culture ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Journal Publishing ◽  
Institutional Repositories ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Regional Location

PurposeThis paper aims to make a substantial contribution to the ongoing debate about the potential of open access publishing and institutional repositories to reform the scholarly communication system. It presents the views of senior authors on these issues and contextualises them within the broader framework of their journal publishing behaviour and preferences.Design/methodology/approachA highly representative online opinion survey of more than five and half thousand journals authors, building on an earlier (January 2004) benchmarking study carried out by CIBER.FindingsSenior researchers are rapidly becoming more informed about open access publishing and institutional repositories but are still a long way off reaching a consensus on the likelihood that these new models will challenge the existing order, nor are they in agreement whether this would be a positive or a negative development. Disciplinary culture and, to a less extent, regional location are key determinants of author attitudes and any policy response should avoid “one‐size‐fits‐all” solutions.Research limitations/implicationsThis survey reflects the opinions of senior corresponding authors who have recently published in a “top” (i.e. ISI‐indexed journal) with 95 per cent confidence. The findings should not be generalised to represent the views of all authors in all journals, open access or otherwise.Originality/valueThe journal publishing sector is facing enormous challenges and opportunities as content increasingly migrates to the web. The value of this research is that it provides an objective, non‐partisan, assessment of the attitudes and opinions of more than 5,000 senior researchers, a key stakeholder group, and thus contributes both to the development of public policy as well as more realistic commercial strategies.

scholarly journals Proposals for copyright law and education during the COVID-19 pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 71 (4) ◽  
pp. 571-594
Author(s):  
Emily Hudson ◽  
Paul Wragg
Keyword(s):  
Open Access ◽  
Public Interest ◽  
Copyright Infringement ◽  
Copyright Law ◽  
Open Access Publishing ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Academic Publishing ◽  
Fair Dealing ◽  
Compulsory Licensing ◽  
Catastrophic Impact

This article asks whether the catastrophic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic justifies new limitations or interventions in copyright law so that UK educational institutions can continue to serve the needs of their students. It describes the existing copyright landscape and suggests ways in which institutions can rely on exceptions in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA), including fair dealing and the exemption for lending by educational establishments. It then considers the viability of other solutions. It argues that issues caused by the pandemic would not enliven a public interest defence to copyright infringement (to the extent this still exists in UK law) but may be relevant to remedies. It also argues that compulsory licensing, while permissible under international copyright law, would not be a desirable intervention, but that legislative expansion to the existing exceptions, in order to encourage voluntary collective licensing, has a number of attractions. It concludes by observing that the pandemic highlights issues with the prevailing model for academic publishing and asks whether COVID may encourage universities to embrace in-house and open access publishing more swiftly and for an even greater body of material.

scholarly journals Scholarly publishing initiatives at the International Rice Research Institute: Linking users to public goods via open access

First Monday ◽  
2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Albert Borrero ◽  
Mila Ramos ◽  
Anna Arsenal ◽  
Katherine Lopez ◽  
Gene Hettel
Keyword(s):  
Open Access ◽  
Public Goods ◽  
Common Good ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
International Rice Research Institute ◽  
Scholarly Publishing ◽  
Open Access Publishing ◽  
Hard Copy ◽  
Research Institute

Scientists at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Philippines, generate a large volume of research results emanating from donor-funded projects. The main objective is to disseminate, as widely as possible, the results of IRRI's research. There is also a strong push to provide free open access to these information resources through modes convenient to researchers in both developing and developed countries. Certain instruments for open access (OA) are already in place at IRRI, including links to full-text publications posted on the Institute's Web site (http://www.irri.org/), especially via the Library branch site (http://ricelib.irri.cgiar.org/), the Rice Knowledge Bank (http://www.knowledgebank.irri.org/), and Rice Publications Archive (http://rice-publications.irri.org/). The joint initiatives of the Library and the Institute's main science publishing units, particularly Communication and Publications Services and the Training Center, typify a convergence of practices to overcome hurdles to OA implementation. This paper explores how the links in IRRI's scholarly publishing chain, bridging information management and publishing, can effectively deliver public goods (knowledge about rice, in this case) to the intended primary users -- researchers and extensionists in the national agricultural research and extension systems (NARES) in developing countries. It also discusses publishing models for delivering public goods generated by an international research organization. To meet its mission, IRRI must employ various demand-supply models to disseminate information. Open access publishing is one model to adopt but first, the onus is on the Institute to overcome issues such as intellectual property rights, funding, and connectivity. IRRI's donors, NARES partners, governments, and rice farmers and consumers expect it to create and share information for the common good, and it strives to convert its resources into electronic format for delivery over the Internet. However, not all its stakeholders are connected. To create impact, IRRI must deliver information through whatever appropriate form, be it cutting-edge digital versions or traditional hard-copy books. This paper discusses this dilemma and hopes to encourage further research and thought on open access publishing.

scholarly journals Introducing Open Access Key

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Thomson
Keyword(s):  
Open Access ◽  
Financial Management ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Open Access Publishing ◽  
Academic Publishing ◽  
Business Software ◽  
Practice Models ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Global Company

OAK was founded in 2011 by a former academic publishing executive and a business software developer who encountered first-hand the challenges facing universities and authors with the growth of open access publishing – both Green and Gold. They set about creating a system that dramatically reduced administration and overcame inefficient workflows for all involved.With the establishment of the 'author pays' scholarly publishing model and the increasing trend for open access mandates from research funders, have infrastructure and resources developed sufficiently to support the additional financial and time pressures that participants now face?Individual researchers, their universities and research funders, and the publishers themselves, all have a part to play in processing and managing individual fees. It appears there is a need from all participants in the industry to make provision to encompass the administration of the publication charges required by many open access publishers. Open Access Key (OAK) is a new global company with an innovative and cost-effective solution which could provide value to all parties involved in these transactions.And in addition to financial management, OAK has been built to deliver a wide range of administrative functionality to the users. For example, OAK can feed repositories with the metadata information collected from each article processed through the platform. Automated workflow again reduces the tasks of the authors and administrators allowing resources to be directed towards research.OAK has been built by Norwegian and Danish technology partners using software that delivers tremendous flexibility. At the same time, the company has created an environment that will enable the sharing of best practice models with its customers. The company's size also speeds up decision-making and reactivity. Within an OAK account, for example, there are 'feedback buttons' to enable users to pass on thoughts, requests and general comments directly to the development team. Prior to rolling out the OAK platform to a new customer, the team spends time discussing the needs within each organisation and engineering the system to meet individual specifications.

Business Model Developments

2021 ◽  
pp. 32-52
Author(s):  
Joost Kollöffel
Keyword(s):  
Open Access ◽  
Business Model ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Scholarly Communication ◽  
Open Access Publishing ◽  
Academic Publishing ◽  
Academic World ◽  
Financial Feasibility ◽  
Predatory Publishers

Academic publishing is a 'need to have' process that is very important in the academic world. This chapter focuses on the business models that were/are/might be used to finance the processes and the innovation in scholarly communication. What sparked the serials crisis? Is Open Access publishing feasible? Why are there predatory publishers? Can scientometrics and altmetrics be made into saleable products? These types of questions are answered in this chapter, where the focus lies on the financial feasibility of the main processes that occur in academic publishing.

Libros en abierto de las editoriales universitarias españolas

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosana López-Carreño ◽  
Ángel M. Delgado-Vázquez ◽  
Francisco-Javier Martínez-Méndez
Keyword(s):  
Open Access ◽  
Public Universities ◽  
Grey Literature ◽  
Open Science ◽  
Open Access Publishing ◽  
Academic Publishing ◽  
Scientific Publications ◽  
Acceso Abierto ◽  
Spanish Public Universities ◽  
Access Policies

This paper analyses the set of scientific publications in open access, other than journals (monographs, conferences proceedings, teaching materials and grey literature), published by Spanish public universities, studying their volume, documentary typology, level of description and open access policies with the aim of measuring their degree of incorporation and compliance with the principles of Open Science. An exhaustive review of the disposed material in open access by these publishers has been carried out, which has allowed to make a diagnosis of their level of open access publishing. Grey literature is the most common documentary type followed by the monograph, in the open publication of these publishers that does not reach even 5% of the average editorial production. The results allow us to conclude that the academic publishing, and more specifically the academic books in open access, still has a very reduced presence within the editorial production of these institutions. Resumen Este trabajo analiza el conjunto de las publicaciones científicas en acceso abierto, distintas de las revistas científicas (monografías, actas de congresos, materiales didácticos y literatura gris), dispuestas para su consulta por las editoriales universitarias públicas, estudiando su volumen, tipología documental, nivel de descripción y políticas de acceso abierto con el objetivo de medir el grado de incorporación y cumplimiento de los principios de Ciencia Abierta. Se ha llevado a cabo una exhaustiva revisión del material publicado en acceso abierto por estas editoriales que ha permitido establecer un diagnóstico de su nivel de edición en acceso abierto. La literatura gris es el tipo documental más frecuente seguido de la monografía, en la publicación en abierto de las editoriales universitarias que no alcanza ni el 5% de la producción editorial universitaria. Los resultados permiten concluir que la publicación académica, y más concretamente el libro en acceso abierto, sigue teniendo una presencia muy reducida dentro de la producción editorial de estas instituciones.

Academic opinions of Wikipedia and Open Access publishing

2014 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 332-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lu Xiao ◽  
Nicole Askin
Keyword(s):  
Open Access ◽  
Statistical Power ◽  
Academic Community ◽  
Open Access Publishing ◽  
Academic Publishing ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Academic Knowledge ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Open Access Journals ◽  
Academic Researchers

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine academics’ awareness of and attitudes towards Wikipedia and Open Access journals for academic publishing to better understand the perceived benefits and challenges of these models. Design/methodology/approach – Bases for analysis include comparison of the models, enumeration of their advantages and disadvantages, and investigation of Wikipedia's web structure in terms of potential for academic publishing. A web survey was administered via department-based invitations and listservs. Findings – The survey results show that: Wikipedia has perceived advantages and challenges in comparison to the Open Access model; the academic researchers’ increased familiarity is associated with increased comfort with these models; and the academic researchers’ attitudes towards these models are associated with their familiarity, academic environment, and professional status. Research limitations/implications – The major limitation of the study is sample size. The result of a power analysis with GPower shows that authors could only detect big effects in this study at statistical power 0.95. The authors call for larger sample studies that look further into this topic. Originality/value – This study contributes to the increasing interest in adjusting methods of creating and disseminating academic knowledge by providing empirical evidence of the academics’ experiences and attitudes towards the Open Access and Wikipedia publishing models. This paper provides a resource for researchers interested in scholarly communication and academic publishing, for research librarians, and for the academic community in general.

scholarly journals Summary and thoughts from a conference – attending the 7th Conference on Open Access Scholarly Publishing

2015 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 37
Author(s):  
Jörgen Eriksson ◽  
Helena Stjernberg ◽  
Aina Svensson
Keyword(s):  
Open Access ◽  
Scholarly Publishing ◽  
University Administrators ◽  
Professional Publishing ◽  
University Presses ◽  
Independent Publishers

The Conference on Open Access Scholarly Publishing, COASP, is held annually with the aim of reaching professional publishing organizations, independent publishers and university presses, as well as librarians, university administrators and other stakeholders. Here, we outline some themes and highlights from this year’s conference.

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