Strategic overview: the politics of e-access and e- funding in the library environment Andrew Booth, Director of Information Resources and Senior Lecturer in Evidence- Based Healthcare Information, School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR), University of Sheffield

A modern fable… Honest John Porlywhite, entrepreneur, comes to you with a novel idea. Why don’t YOU use YOUR intellectual capacity to invent a new confectionery? Honest John Porlywhite, entrepreneur, comes to you with a novel idea. Why don’t YOU use YOUR intellectual capacity to invent a new confectionery? First YOU will write a business case for it First YOU will write a business case for it “Yes, but what will you do?

Next steps Then YOU will go to a funder to get support to produce it. Then YOU will go to a funder to get support to produce it. YOU and YOUR colleagues will spend two years developing and improving it YOU and YOUR colleagues will spend two years developing and improving it “Yes, but what will you do?

Are you following? Then YOU will send it to a further colleague who will taste it and ensure it has potential Then YOU will send it to a further colleague who will taste it and ensure it has potential YOUR colleague will send it to two more independent colleagues of YOURS who will also taste it and write a brief report about it YOUR colleague will send it to two more independent colleagues of YOURS who will also taste it and write a brief report about it THEY will suggest how it might be improved THEY will suggest how it might be improved YOU will improve it YOU will improve it YOU will perfect it and YOU will provide all the ingredients and labour for a marketable batch using YOUR employer’s time and YOUR funder’s money YOU will perfect it and YOU will provide all the ingredients and labour for a marketable batch using YOUR employer’s time and YOUR funder’s money

What will Honest John do? He will put YOUR Serial bar in his cake shop window He will put YOUR Serial bar in his cake shop window He will let his customers view YOUR Serial bar He will let his customers view YOUR Serial bar They will even be able to “Pay per Sniff” They will even be able to “Pay per Sniff” But…if they actually want to eat it they will have to buy all the other cakes in the shop and sometimes… But…if they actually want to eat it they will have to buy all the other cakes in the shop and sometimes…

They will have to buy… A bundle of all the cakes from an arbitrary selection of all Honest John’s other shops too! A bundle of all the cakes from an arbitrary selection of all Honest John’s other shops too! Porlywhite Bakering p

Who can eat your serial bar? Your funder can only eat it if he buys all the other cakes in the shop Your funder can only eat it if he buys all the other cakes in the shop Your organisation can only eat it if it does so in a closed room Your organisation can only eat it if it does so in a closed room Your colleagues are given a small batch to give away one at a time Your colleagues are given a small batch to give away one at a time And you can only give one away to someone if they come to your private address and ring your doorbell And you can only give one away to someone if they come to your private address and ring your doorbell

And the moral of this fable is… It is only Journal Publishers that manage to have their cake and eat it too!

And that is why… We in the academic community want to go Open Access! We in the academic community want to go Open Access!

An open access publication is when: The author(s) and copyright holder(s) grant(s) to all users a free, irrevocable, worldwide, perpetual (for the lifetime of the applicable copyright) right of access to, and a licence to copy, use, distribute, perform and display the work publicly and to make and distribute derivative works in any digital medium for any reasonable purpose, subject to proper attribution of authorship, as well as the right to make small numbers of printed copies for their personal use. The author(s) and copyright holder(s) grant(s) to all users a free, irrevocable, worldwide, perpetual (for the lifetime of the applicable copyright) right of access to, and a licence to copy, use, distribute, perform and display the work publicly and to make and distribute derivative works in any digital medium for any reasonable purpose, subject to proper attribution of authorship, as well as the right to make small numbers of printed copies for their personal use. A complete version [and all supplemental materials, including a copy of the permission]…is deposited immediately upon initial publication in at least one online repository …supported by an academic institution, scholarly society, government agency, or other well-established organization that seeks to enable open access, unrestricted distribution, interoperability, and long-term archiving… A complete version [and all supplemental materials, including a copy of the permission]…is deposited immediately upon initial publication in at least one online repository …supported by an academic institution, scholarly society, government agency, or other well-established organization that seeks to enable open access, unrestricted distribution, interoperability, and long-term archiving…

But enough of the rhetoric… “…the global scientific research community could save more than 40% in costs by switching entirely to an open-access model. [Comparison of current annual spending on scientific journals at Cornell, Yale, and Princeton universities with estimated spending under open-access]. Assuming current published article numbers of 3,900, 3,600 and 2,500 respectively, we estimate the corresponding cost savings at 20%, 35% and 40%”. “…the global scientific research community could save more than 40% in costs by switching entirely to an open-access model. [Comparison of current annual spending on scientific journals at Cornell, Yale, and Princeton universities with estimated spending under open-access]. Assuming current published article numbers of 3,900, 3,600 and 2,500 respectively, we estimate the corresponding cost savings at 20%, 35% and 40%”. (BNP Paribas, 2003)

A personal view Library Manager (£ 20,000 on journals p.a.) Library Manager (£ 20,000 on journals p.a.) Library User (University Library Committee) Library User (University Library Committee) Author (40+ peer reviewed articles) Author (40+ peer reviewed articles) Researcher (Referee on NHS Programmes) Researcher (Referee on NHS Programmes) Teacher (MSc in Health Services Research & MSc in Health Informatics) Teacher (MSc in Health Services Research & MSc in Health Informatics) Editorial Team member (e.g. Health Information & Libraries Journal) Editorial Team member (e.g. Health Information & Libraries Journal)

Stakeholder analysis – Librarian perspective Low Trust High Trust High Agreement Commercial open access publishers Authors/EditorsResearchers Teaching staff NfP OA publishers Academic institutions Low agreement Traditional publishers Subscription Agents RAE Panels

The Librarian’s Perspective continuing journal inflation continuing journal inflation declining budgets declining budgets confusing pricing models, confusing pricing models, cancellations cancellations getting and keeping online access, getting and keeping online access, educating academics about the perils of the current model, educating academics about the perils of the current model, making hard choices between serial and monograph purchases. making hard choices between serial and monograph purchases.

The Editor’s Perspective To secure a wide base of authors, peer- reviewed open-access journals must prove that they can offer similar or better visibility than their subscription-driven counterparts…they will need to generate identical or higher impact factors…more a question of time than a structural issue... To secure a wide base of authors, peer- reviewed open-access journals must prove that they can offer similar or better visibility than their subscription-driven counterparts…they will need to generate identical or higher impact factors…more a question of time than a structural issue... (BNP Paribas, 2003)

Impact factors the correlation between impact factors and pricing for a sample of Reed Elsevier's STM journals shows a correlation coefficient of only 0.1…higher impact factors do not necessarily warrant higher prices. the correlation between impact factors and pricing for a sample of Reed Elsevier's STM journals shows a correlation coefficient of only 0.1…higher impact factors do not necessarily warrant higher prices. (BNP Paribas, 2003) Open Access journals published by BioMed Central have …impact factors for 2003 that compare well with equivalent subscription titles. The high impact factors, all for journals that are just a few years old, show that by making quality articles much more widely visible, Open Access to research literature achieves impact fast. Open Access journals published by BioMed Central have …impact factors for 2003 that compare well with equivalent subscription titles. The high impact factors, all for journals that are just a few years old, show that by making quality articles much more widely visible, Open Access to research literature achieves impact fast. (BMC Press release 24 June 2004)

The Author’s perspective Under open-access authors retain the copyrights, thereby breaking the publishers' monopoly…The result would be competition for manuscripts ­ quite the opposite of the current model where manuscripts compete for space in journals. Under open-access authors retain the copyrights, thereby breaking the publishers' monopoly…The result would be competition for manuscripts ­ quite the opposite of the current model where manuscripts compete for space in journals. Pricing power could move to the author…open-access may increase market competition for content as publishers will have to work harder to attract authors' manuscripts and generate revenues. In our opinion, authors would be likely to consider three key factors in their decision to publish: the speed of publication, the quality of the journal and the upfront charge. Pricing power could move to the author…open-access may increase market competition for content as publishers will have to work harder to attract authors' manuscripts and generate revenues. In our opinion, authors would be likely to consider three key factors in their decision to publish: the speed of publication, the quality of the journal and the upfront charge. (BNP Paribas, 2003)

The Author’s perspective - 2 Open-access increases the chances of authors having their work read and cited by expanding the potential reader base, and…can support and promote the authors. Open-access has the potential to improve communication among scientists, as well as among the research community and the general public… Open-access increases the chances of authors having their work read and cited by expanding the potential reader base, and…can support and promote the authors. Open-access has the potential to improve communication among scientists, as well as among the research community and the general public… Under open-access…the cost of publishing STM articles could be lowered for universities and research institutions...[based on the critical assumption that submission costs per article would be less than the subscription revenues per article implied by the current model]. Under open-access…the cost of publishing STM articles could be lowered for universities and research institutions...[based on the critical assumption that submission costs per article would be less than the subscription revenues per article implied by the current model]. (BNP Paribas, 2003)

The Funder’s Perspective £1100 payment by authors would allow a workable, high quality, and sustainable publishing model…compared with an average cost of £1500 per paper for papers published under the traditional system. the author pays model…a viable option…less costly and to have the potential to serve the scientific community successfully. £1100 payment by authors would allow a workable, high quality, and sustainable publishing model…compared with an average cost of £1500 per paper for papers published under the traditional system. the author pays model…a viable option…less costly and to have the potential to serve the scientific community successfully. Costs and Business Models in Scientific Research Publishing

The Funder’s Perspective – 2 "The benefits of research are derived principally from access to research results," …the current subscriber pays system [gives] a small number of publishers almost complete control over the distribution of research that in 90% of cases had public funding. Profits of up to 40% [are] being made through this system. "The benefits of research are derived principally from access to research results," …the current subscriber pays system [gives] a small number of publishers almost complete control over the distribution of research that in 90% of cases had public funding. Profits of up to 40% [are] being made through this system. Subscription fees have risen by 200% in the last decade and currently cost UK universities £76m a year. The total cost of access to research for Wellcome Trust funded scientists under an open access system would add an additional 1% to the costs of research. Subscription fees have risen by 200% in the last decade and currently cost UK universities £76m a year. The total cost of access to research for Wellcome Trust funded scientists under an open access system would add an additional 1% to the costs of research. Costs and Business Models in Scientific Research Publishing

Scientific publishing: A position statement by the Wellcome Trust… The Trust welcomes the establishment of free-access, high-quality scientific journals available via the Internet; welcomes the establishment of free-access, high-quality scientific journals available via the Internet; will encourage and support formation of such journals and/or free-access repositories for research papers; will encourage and support formation of such journals and/or free-access repositories for research papers; will meet…publication charges by permitting Trust researchers to use contingency funds for this purpose; will meet…publication charges by permitting Trust researchers to use contingency funds for this purpose; encourages researchers to maximize the opportunities to make their results available for free and, where possible, retain their copyright… encourages researchers to maximize the opportunities to make their results available for free and, where possible, retain their copyright…

But will [when will?] the Research Assessment Exercise follow suit? “affirms the principle that it is the intrinsic merit of the work, and not the title of the journal in which a researcher's work is published, that should be considered in funding decisions and awarding grants”.

The likely consequences: Open access journals will be cited more Open access journals will be cited more Migration from “profiteering” publishers Migration from “profiteering” publishers The article, not the journal becomes the unit of analysis The article, not the journal becomes the unit of analysis Fewer articles get read completely Fewer articles get read completely Need to substitute for serendipity Need to substitute for serendipity Change of role for subscription agents Change of role for subscription agents

A BMJ perspective In the paper world, each extra copy of an article or a journal comes at cost—for paper, print, binding, and postage. In the paper world, each extra copy of an article or a journal comes at cost—for paper, print, binding, and postage. By comparison, on the web the distribution costs are virtually zero (for bmj.com they amount to about 0.3 pence/article). By comparison, on the web the distribution costs are virtually zero (for bmj.com they amount to about 0.3 pence/article). If the fixed costs of article processing could be recovered on input to the system then the output could be made available free to everyone who was interested. If the fixed costs of article processing could be recovered on input to the system then the output could be made available free to everyone who was interested. Delamothe & Smith. BMJ Jan 3:1-3.

A mixed economy? “a long term sustainable model could be a mixture of "author pays" for original research articles and "reader pays" for the rest”. “a long term sustainable model could be a mixture of "author pays" for original research articles and "reader pays" for the rest”. the authors add most…value with original research articles (by undertaking and writing up the research), whereas the editors and publishers add most…value with the material they write or commission. the authors add most…value with original research articles (by undertaking and writing up the research), whereas the editors and publishers add most…value with the material they write or commission. A business model where journals are paid for the value they add is sustainable—and also provides an incentive for them to add more value. In contrast, a model where publishers charge for value added by others (the researchers) will be found out—as Reed Elsevier is beginning to discover”. A business model where journals are paid for the value they add is sustainable—and also provides an incentive for them to add more value. In contrast, a model where publishers charge for value added by others (the researchers) will be found out—as Reed Elsevier is beginning to discover”. Delamothe & Smith. BMJ Jan 3:1-3.

The unanticipable effects? Leaner large publishers Leaner large publishers Demise of the smaller publishers Demise of the smaller publishers Loss of flexibility and ability to give personal attention (e.g. “nanny role”) Loss of flexibility and ability to give personal attention (e.g. “nanny role”) Challenges to bibliographic control Challenges to bibliographic control Technical (not scientific) quality Technical (not scientific) quality Uncertainty about archiving responsibilities Uncertainty about archiving responsibilities

The basic choice? Ever-changing fashions? OR Long-term relationships?