Co-operating for gold open access without APCs
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1629/uksg.166Keywords:
open access, funding, economics, publishing, humanitiesAbstract
While article processing charges (APCs) are emerging as a key way in which existing publishers can adapt to gold open access (OA), this mode is problematic in many ways. Considering the existing subscription publication ecosystem as a risk/cost-pooling mechanism leads to the conclusion that APCs are a concentration of risk that may come with damaging institutional consequences, particularly in the humanities disciplines. Consortial and co-operative modes of funding gold OA, however, do not come with these drawbacks but are susceptible to ‘free riders’. In this article, the theoretical backdrop to these models is addressed and the range of current offerings evaluated. Noting that classical economic incentives do not seem to operate in a world of inter-library loans, the article ends with a description of the model that is being implemented for the Open Library of Humanities initiative, funded by the Andrew W Mellon Foundation.
Published
Issue
Section
Categories
License
Copyright (c) 2015 The Author(s)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms. If a submission is rejected or withdrawn prior to publication, all rights return to the author(s):
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Licence that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal. Please note if accepted for publication your work will be open access and distributed under a CC-BY Licence, unless previously agreed with Insights Editors before submission.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
Submitting to the journal implicitly confirms that all named authors and rights holders have agreed to the above terms of publication. It is the submitting author's responsibility to ensure all authors and relevant institutional bodies have given their agreement at the point of submission.
Note: some institutions require authors to seek written approval in relation to the terms of publication. Should this be required, authors can request a separate licence agreement document from the editorial team (e.g. authors who are Crown employees).