23.12.2019
Scientific Publishers Unite to Oppose Potential Open Access Executive Order
« (…) The White House is considering issuing an executive order that would mandate immediate free access to all published federally funded research, according to administration and scientific publishing officials. (…)
A zero-embargo requirement would upend the scientific publishing business, the vast majority of which derives its revenues from institutional subscriptions to journals. A small but growing number of journals use an open access publishing model, in which authors pay the costs, known as article processing charges, to publish their results and make them immediately available for free.
Many scientific societies, including the American Institute of Physics, which publishes FYI and Physics Today, derive the bulk of their revenues from their journal publishing operations. Those funds help pay for other functions the societies perform, such as issuing magazines and newsletters, offering education and outreach programs, and sponsoring awards and conferences. (…)
But the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition, an open access advocacy organization representing more than 200 academic and research libraries, would welcome the proposed order, according to executive director Heather Joseph. “We wholeheartedly endorse updating current policy and eliminating the unnecessary 12 month waiting period for the public to gain access to the outputs of taxpayer-funded scientific research, including data, articles, and the supporting computer code,” Joseph said in a statement. (…) »
source > aip.org, 20 décembre 2019
