UC Office of Scholarly Communications Provides Negotiation Toolkit to the Public

Posted on July 20, 2019 by Stephanie Krueger

In a bold effort, the University of California Office of Scholarly Communications has created a toolkit for those negotiating with publishers. The toolkit, well-conceived and including specific UC examples, can assist anyone in approaching complex negotiations (not only with publishers) and includes a section on communications efforts and execution, stressing the importance of the role of data analytics in the negotiation process.

The Office has also made public a recent presentation of the UC strategy to its leadership (link, with video, below).

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The “Open Access Wars”: An Academic Publishing Synopsis

Posted on June 12, 2019 by Stephanie Krueger

Recent developments, including University of California developments, clearly explained together with a historical synopsis of the academic publishing industry:

This is a story about more than subscription fees. It’s about how a private industry has come to dominate the institutions of science, and how librarians, academics, and even pirates are trying to regain control.

Full story:

Resnick, B. & Belluz, J. (2019). “The war to free science: How librarians, pirates, and funders are liberating the world’s academic research from paywalls.” Vox. Retrieved from https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/2019/6/3/18271538/open-access-elsevier-california-sci-hub-academic-paywalls

 

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Alternative to Beall’s: Cabell’s Predatory Journal Blacklist

Posted on May 23, 2019 by Stephanie Krueger

Rick Anderson has written a review of one alternative to Beall’s List: the subscription resource Cabell’s Predatory Journal Blacklist.

Anderson’s conclusion:

Overall, I find the Cabell’s Blacklist product to be a carefully crafted, honestly managed, and highly useful tool for libraries, faculty committees, and authors.

Read more:

Anderson, R. (2018). Cabell’s Predatory Journal Blacklist: An Updated Review. The Scholarly Kitchen. https://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2019/05/01/cabells-predatory-journal-blacklist-an-updated-review/

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UC Slides: Blueprint for Negotiations

Posted on April 17, 2019 by Stephanie Krueger

Mackie-Mason, Waibel, and Willmont from the University of California system teamed up to present their Blueprint for Negotiations at CNI on April 8. Power up the slides at: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1gmVXRxGIp_hWUQ82wP6jzhcDsYiaeDlfeLR-3speGGE/edit#slide=id.g55eeb5f918_8_20

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It’s All About Content “Leakage”: Analysis of the UC Elsevier Deal

Posted on March 8, 2019 by Stephanie Krueger

Roger Schonfeld once again provides an excellent analysis, this time on the drivers of recent Elsevier deals:

…California, through its cancellation, has nevertheless maintained its position unambiguously. It does not need ongoing journal subscriptions through ScienceDirect. Put another way: A major customer’s perceived value in the product offering has declined. Elsevier apparently no longer has the pricing power it once could assert.

Leakage

The source of the value decline is no mystery. Joe Esposito argued more than a year ago that ‘Sci-Hub is an unacknowledged reserve army prepared to enter the battle with publishers,’ noting elsewhere in the piece that time “is not on Elsevier’s side.”

But Sci-Hub is not alone. Sci-Hub is one of a series of services through which content is ‘leaking’ out of publisher sites through to users. While some of these sites are illicit and pirate, others like SSRN and institutional repositories are accepted parts of the ecosystem, and still others are like ResearchGate, whose intentions vary by observer.

Read more at: Schonfeld, R. (2019). Is the Value of the Big Deal in Decline? The Scholarly Kitchen. https://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2019/03/07/value-big-deal-leakage/

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University of California System Terminates Elsevier Agreement

Posted on March 1, 2019 by Stephanie Krueger

https://news.lib.berkeley.edu/elsevier-outcome

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Interview with Randy Schekman about Plan S

Posted on February 25, 2019 by Stephanie Krueger

Nature interviews open-access pioneer, Nobel Prize winner, and cell biologist Randy Schekman (UC Berkeley) about Plan S:

There will be a shakedown in the business. Some journals will lose out. Publishing is not a static business — the advent of the preprint server has really changed things, for example. Journals are going to change, and Plan S could have a strong influence.

Else, H. (22 Feburary 2019). Open-access pioneer Randy Schekman on Plan S and disrupting scientific publishing, Nature News Q&A. Available at:  https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-00595-y?utm_source=twt_nnc&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=naturenews&sf208184622=1

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Helpful Summary of Plan S Discussion Themes

Posted on February 11, 2019 by Stephanie Krueger

There is enthusiasm and support for the overall goals of Plan S; however, there is also a great deal of concern about the implementation guidance and the very real possibility of negative unintended effects.

Hinchliffe, L. J. (2019). “Taking Stock of the Feedback on Plan S Implementation Guidance,” The Scholarly Kitchen. https://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2019/02/11/with-thousand-of-pages-of-feedback-on-the-plans-s-implementation-guidance-what-themes-emerged-that-might-guide-next-steps/

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…& Clarivate Merging with Churchill Capital Corp. & Going Public

Posted on January 15, 2019 by Stephanie Krueger

Together, they will call themselves “Clarivate” and become listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

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Hot Off the Presses: Projekt DEAL Signs Agreement with Wiley

Posted on January 15, 2019 by Stephanie Krueger

From the press release:

John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (NYSE: JW-A and JW – B), a global leader in research and education, announced today a countrywide partnership agreement with Projekt DEAL, a representative of nearly 700 academic institutions in Germany. Under an annual fee, this transformative three-year agreement … [means] researchers at Projekt DEAL institutions can publish articles open access in Wiley’s journals. The partnership will better support institutions and researchers in advancing open science, driving discovery, and developing and disseminating knowledge.

 

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