CNI Fall 2019 Membership Meeting

The APC (article processing charge) path to an open access scholarly publication ecosystem has dominated the scholarly communication discussion since the release of PlanS in Europe in the fall of 2018. Though this path may be feasible for some, it is impossible for others, and the "transformative" nature of an author-pays model seems in doubt when it (a) perpetuates injustices and biases ingrained in the traditional scholarly publishing ecosystem and (b) does little to stem the flow of increasing amounts of money into the system. True and lasting change requires collective investment in new infrastructure models and a commitment to new community-based models of scholarly publishing that open up research communication for equitable participation and equitable access.

Libraries from the University of Arizona, Columbia University, and the University of Guelph have recently redirected funding away from APCs and toward "investments" in open - projects and initiatives that have potential for impactful and substantial change for the many, rather than the few. These institutions are directing funding toward community-led, open infrastructure, advocacy, and other projects which might accelerate the transformation of the existing publication ecosystem to a more equitable and sustainable non-commercial open access model. Panelists will discuss their revised investment funds, describe other community-driven reinvestment opportunities, and detail the truly transformative possibilities of non-APC dependent open access publication models.

University of Guelph: https://www.lib.uoguelph.ca/get-assistance/publishing-support/open-scholarship-support
University of Arizona: https://new.library.arizona.edu/about/awards/oa-fund
SPARC: https://sparcopen.org/our-work/landscape-analysis/
Columbia University: In development