Issue 63

Funding sources for open access articles

OPEN SCIENCE

Crossref has released a free public data file of 112+ Million Crossref records. The 65 GB file contains the metadata associated with all of its records.

South Korea has released a de-identified dataset of medical histories for confirmed COVID-19 patients, in an attempt to help study the disease. More information here.

Open science advocate Jon Tennant has passed away in a motorcycle accident. We extend our sincere condolences to his family.
  

PUBLISHING

cOAlition S publishes updated criteria for eligible Transformative Journals. The changes include a more relaxed timeframe for the transition to open access, and a higher threshold of open access content (75%) at which the journal needs to flip to full open access. In response, Springer Nature was one of the first large publisher of subscription journals to commit to transform the majority of its journals (including Nature) via this route.

RELX has revised its full-year outlook in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The exhibitions business appears particularly impacted. Elsevier’s publishing operations may be less affected based on the 75% share of revenue in this division coming from subscriptions.

That being said, SUNY, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Iowa State University all have cancelled their big deals with Elsevier in the past days, some in favor of individual journal subscriptions.

Market Predictions During Economic Uncertainty. Delta Think have released an analysis of potential economic impacts on the publishing industry. 

Springer Nature makes key textbooks freely accessible for educators, students and academics affected by coronavirus lockdown.

Cambridge University Press has launched Cambridge Open Engage, a platform for preprints, presentations, posters and grey literature.

‘APCs in the Wild’. A whitepaper by Springer Nature that looks at the sources of article processing charge (APC) funding for Springer Nature authors. Full paper is here. There are a lot of details here on the source of APCs, whether paid directly by researchers (‘wild’) or by funders and institutions. The regional differences appear to suggest a varying uptake of funding models. See also figure below.
  

EVENTS

The STM Association and the Center for Open Science are organizing a virtual STM Research Data Workshop on April 27, 9:00 AM – 12:30 PM EDT. It is for publishers and societies to learn from experienced publishers and other organizations how data sharing can be optimally and efficiently facilitated.

Funding sources for open access articles

Responses by Springer Nature authors about the funding sources for open access article processing charge payments reveal variations by region.
Credit (CC-BY): Monaghan, Jessica; Lucraft, Mithu; Allin, Katie (2020): ‘APCs in the Wild’: Could Increased Monitoring and Consolidation of Funding Accelerate the Transition to Open Access? figshare. Journal contribution. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.11988123.v4