EUA webinar series: Universities and the future of scholarly publishing

25 May 2021 – 14.00 to 15.30 CEST

This second webinar of the series "Universities and the future of scholarly publishing" explored different scholar-led Open Access initiatives and will highlight how universities can support and nurture such projects.

The results of a EUA study on read and publish agreements and scenarios for scholarly publishing indicate that community-led publishing models are a highly desirable alternative to for-profit publishers. They leave ownership of journals within academia and they often cost significantly less than their commercial counterparts and stand for innovative, new formats and publishing models. However, they may require backing from universities and libraries to operate sustainably.

Panellists and presentations:

  • Vanessa Proudman, Director, SPARC Europe
  • Birgit Schmidt, Head of Knowledge Commons, Göttingen State and University Library
  • Kathleen Shearer, Executive Director and Eloy Rodrigues, Chair of the Executive Board, Confederation of Open Access Repositories
  • Jadranka Stojanovski, Associate Professor, University of Zadar; Research Librarian, Ruđer Bošković Institute; HRČAK Advisory Board Member; OPERAS Core Group

Chaired by Vinciane Gaillard, EUA, Deputy Director for Research & Innovation

 A recording of the webinar is available on our EUA Youtube Channel.

From 18 May until 15 June, EUA hosted the webinar series “Universities and the future of scholarly publishing”.

18 May: Webinar I - Into the unknown: most likely futures for Open Access publishing
25 May: Webinar II - Universities and the promises of scholar-led publishing
8 June: Webinar III - Quo vadis, transformative agreements?
15 June: Webinar IV - Let’s get practical: aligning institutional action with Plan S (The final webinar is reserved to EUA members upon invitation.)

Scholarly publishing began experiencing a transition long before the Covid-19 crisis showed the power of Open Access in advancing knowledge amidst a global pandemic. The move away from the traditional subscription model has been happening now for several years. New types of Open Access agreements - replacing the traditional big deals - are emerging around the globe. This new landscape is complex and its future is uncertain. Scholarly publishing is entering into uncharted waters, with publishers big and small experimenting with flipped business models, and research organisations and communities proactively building alternative means of scholarly communication.

Universities, through their dual role as hosts of researchers and economic actors in scholarly communication, can be a crucial factor in determining which course scholarly publishing will take. Collective action from universities, as part of consortia or as actors determining institutional publishing policies, can and has had an impact.

EUA has been a vocal supporter of Open Access for years and continues in this role. The Association’s positon “Universities without walls – A vision for 2030” stresses the commitment of Europe’s universities to Open Science as the new normal, promoting and supporting a diverse publishing system. Open Science is a core element of the EUA Strategic Plan and a crucial part of its “Perspectives on the new European Research Area”.

Following the strategic reflections in the 2020 report “Read & Publish contracts in the context of a dynamic scholarly publishing system”, EUA is offering a series of webinar discussions about the role of universities in determining the future of scholarly publishing. The webinar series aims to raise awareness across universities about their role in developing an Open Access publishing system and to engage in a discussion with universities, consortia, funders, researchers, publishers and other stakeholders.

Divided in four events, the first three webinars will be organised as foresight-oriented, strategic discussions. The fourth and final event, in partnership with Coalition S, will focus on addressing imminent and practical questions about universities and the implementation of Plan S.

The EUA webinar series will be of interest to university and library leadership, leaders in scholarly communication and publishing and anyone else interested in Open Access.

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