Getting to Open

Open access is a common end goal for many stakeholders in scholarly communications. But how will we get there? In this webinar, we’ll hear about different approaches on how to get to open, from a library, publisher, funder and researcher perspective. In the end, we’ll have a discussion about how we can get there together, as a community.

Short summary

This webinar focused on various perspectives and approaches to Open Access (OA) and the challenges associated with achieving it. The speakers discussed their insights on OA from the standpoint of researchers, libraries, publishers, funders, and the broader research community.

Venessa Jaiteh opened the discussion by sharing her experience and challenges as a researcher in the context of OA. She highlighted the difficulties researchers face in publishing OA papers and staying compliant with funders’ requirements. She narrated a personal incident where she faced issues due to an embargo on a paper that she published in a repository five years earlier.

While she acknowledged that OA is the way forward, she stressed that it can be challenging to find relevant information. Furthermore, she mentioned the potential disadvantage of receiving funding that can be used only for publishing in gold open access given the pressure to publish in high-impact journals which in her field are primary hybrid. She also pointed out instances where authors might add unnecessary contributors to their papers to secure funding from OA sources.

AJ Boston was up next and presented his “Read & Let Read” library subscription model. This model aims to provide comprehensive access to paywalled content – both current and past – for users both inside and outside subscribing institutions, thereby addressing the limitations of existing OA models. The model is designed to create value for libraries as the publishing landscape increasingly shifts towards OA, ensuring sustainability for publishers, and compatibility with coexisting OA pathways.

Sara Bosshart discussed the Royal Society of Chemistry’s (RSC) plans to transition all their journals to fully OA by 2028. The RSC has two primary objectives in this endeavour: to ensure financial sustainability while continuing to serve the research community and to create mechanisms that allow authors to publish in RSC journals during the transition without undue burden. This emphasizes the RSC’s commitment to making the transition to OA as smooth as possible for both authors and readers.

Chris Pym provided an overview of the role of funders in driving the transition to open access. The discussion highlighted the changing landscape of research funding and how funders are increasingly emphasizing OA as a requirement for research projects. Publishers are adapting to these changes by exploring various OA models to meet the evolving needs of the research community.

The webinar concluded with a lively discussion.