Open Access Policies
The unchecked growth of journal subscription costs has put into jeopardy the main objective of the academic library: to allocate funds for equitable collection development that satisfies the needs of students and faculty members from across disciplines. The “serials crisis” has prompted individuals, consortia, and national governments to reconsider our collective scholarly communications system. The Open Access movement is representative of these voices. These movements are more pronounced in Europe than in the Americas, Africa, or Asia. Advocates of Open Access have offered tenable solutions to the “serials crisis,” such as Gold and Green alternative publishing routes. Unfortunately, individual institutions, funding agencies, and national governments have implemented these recommendations haphazardly, without thoughtful consideration and coordinated effort.
These mandates, however, have often supported the Gold OA model (APC). Proponents of the Gold OA model argue that under ideal conditions competition in an OA environment lowers cost of scholarly communication because publishers will be forced to respond to elastic author demand. A fully Gold APC model would cost research-intensive universities more than they currently pay subscription and license fees, but would save money for non-research- intensive institutions. Scholarly communications professionals have argued that the Gold OA model is not sustainable and that it will not remedy the fundamental problem facing modern scholarly communications: that is, publishers will continue to control the publishing apparatus, enabling them to charge APCs based on perceived journal quality and not one reflective of a true cost of production (plus reasonable markup).
Clearly, a range of opinions exist on how to go about implemeting sustainable, effective OA policy. This section provides resources to help you and your institution make smart choices about Open Access initatives. Every regional and institutional context is different; therefore, treat these examplars as guides to develop your own institutional policies.
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