Peter Suber wrote:
Springer and Dutch library consortium to cooperate in open access initiative, a press release from the Dutch UKB (Universiteitsbibliotheken en de Koninklijke Bibliotheek), June 21, 2007. Excerpt:
The Dutch consortium of research libraries, UKB, and Springer have signed a letter of intent to the effect that they will jointly explore the potential of open access publishing. This is the first time a prominent scientific publisher and a consortium of research libraries explicitly join forces on an open access initiative.
The letter of intent signed by UKB en Springer is therefore designed to:
- allow authors to gain experience with open access publishing in existing, established journals;
- allow open access media to build a solid scientific reputation;
- gain experience with the economic viability of the business model whereby the publisher is paid for publication (at the point of input: pay-to-publish) rather than for access to content (at the point of output: subscriptions or access licenses)….
The letter of intent contains four elements:
- Within the framework of the existing licensing agreement with UKB, Springer undertakes to offer free and immediate world-wide access to articles which have been accepted for publication in one of Springer’s journals in 2007 by corresponding authors whose main affiliation is with one of the UKB members;
- Springer allows for simultaneous publication of the articles in the open access institutional repositories of UKB members (DARE);
- In the course of 2007, UKB and Springer will negotiate a long-term open access agreement;
- The intention of both UKB and Springer is to evaluate the arrangement, which is seen as a pilot, with all stakeholders, and to actively disseminate the outcome of the evaluation….