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Open access journals turn the current journal business
model on its head by charging for the dissemination
of information (through the authors) rather than for
access to information (through subscriptions).
Without subscription income publishers will have to
look at new financial models to support their journals.
There are costs associated with the peer review process
and with publication of a paper (even if it is only
online), and these costs must be met somehow. A number
of possible revenue sources for open access journals
have been identified, for example, see the Crow and
Goldstein Guides
to Business Planning for Open Access Journals written
on behalf of the Open Society Institute.
One of the most stable revenue sources may be that
where authors pay a publication charge, so ensuring
that the publisher would receive sufficient revenue
to make the paper available to all with no access restrictions.
Ultimately, it would be for the funding body or the
institution to cover the publication charge, but basically,
this model looks to a move for paying for access to
material (through subscriptions) to paying for dissemination.
We have put together a paper
on managing the transfer of existing, closed access
journals to open access. A number of major society publishers
are experimenting with this variations of this model,
including Oxford
University Press, The
Company of Biologists, the American
Physiological Society. Recently, the
Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences
has adopted this model.
Some objections have been raised to open access journals,
but we feel that these objections can be answered.
SPARC and SPARC Europe support the Director of Open
Access Journals (DOAJ)
produced by Lund University in Sweden. This provides
a listing of over 1100 current peer-reviewed open access
journals. The list is expanding as more open access
journals are launched. Librarians should use this list
to catalogue open access journals and ensure that researchers
at their institutions know about the existence of the
journals.
SPARC and SPARC Europe are also pleased to be associated
with a number of leading open access journals as part
of our partnership programme. These include:
Algebraic
and Geometric Topology
AGT is published by Geometry
and Topology Publications. Publication is in electronic
format completely free to individuals with papers appearing
a few days after acceptance. Low-priced paper copy is
available. For details of Electronic Library Subscriptions
and paper subscriptions see http://www.maths.warwick.ac.uk/gt/gtp-subscription.html.
AGT is an alternative to Topology and Its
Applications.
BioMed
Central
BioMed Central publishes more than 100 online journals
covering biology, medicine, and the life sciences. It
operates via author charges and institutional memberships.
Documenta
Mathematica
This journal is free of charge to both authors and
readers (in electronic format). Printed volumes are
available for a low price. Please see the order form
available at: http://www.mathematik.uni-bielefeld.de/documenta/ord-form-eng.pdf.
eScholarship
California Digital Library
Geometry
& Topology
GT is published by Geometry
and Topology Publications. Publication is in electronic
format completely free to individuals with papers appearing
a few days after acceptance. Low-priced paper copy is
available. For details of Electronic Library Subscriptions
and paper subscriptions see http://www.maths.warwick.ac.uk/gt/gtp-subscription.html.
GT is an alternative to Topology.
Journal
of Insect Science
The Journal of Insect Science is free of charge. It
is published by the University of Arizona Library.
Journal of Machine
Learning Research (JMLR)
JMLR provides an international forum for the
electronic and paper publication of high-quality scholarly
articles in all areas of machine learning. JMLR
is free online. Paper subscriptions from MIT Press are
$75 for individuals and $375 for institutions per year.
JMLR is an alternative to Machine Learning.
New Journal of
Physics
NJP is published by the Institute of Physics and the
German Physical Society and has adopted a model based
on an article charge paid by authors of published papers.
Readers can access the site free of charge.
Public Library
of Science
In October of 2003, the Public Library of Science launched
its first journal, PLoS
Biology, featuring works of exceptional significance
in all areas of biological science, from molecules to
ecosystems, including works at the interface with other
disciplines, such as chemistry, medicine, and mathematics.
PLoS Biology is open access with all papers
immediately available without cost to anyone, anywhere.
In June 2005 PLoS Biology was assessed by Thomson
ISI to have an impact factor of 13.9, placing it among
the most highly cited journals in the life sciences
and number 1 in ISI's category of general biology journals.
PLoS Biology was followed by the launch of
PLoS
Medicine in Autumn 2004 and PLoS
Computational Biology in June 2005 with more
titles to follow..
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