From the "about" page: 'This guide has a limited scope. It is meant to help scholarly societies - and small publishers - assess the options available to them for the future of their journal publishing programmes. Though the option of keeping the status quo of subscription-based journals is discussed, the focus is on conversion of existing journals to open access, either in one go, or via an intermediate managed transition phase.'
From the text: 'Scholarly Societies are 'natural' Open Access publishers....A society serious about furthering the science and practice in its chosen field is bound to consider these benefits [of OA] and to look for ways of using them wherever possible for the attainment of its goals. By switching to open access publishing they will do much to further the widespread dissemination of knowledge in the area of science that they foster and promote....[T]he perception is widespread that the societies benefit more from the traditional publishing model than they are ever likely to do from these new emerging input-paid models, at least if one looks at revenues. As said before, this is a false perception. For societies that make the choice for open access, this guide aims to provide practical help to reduce or even eliminate financial risks and make conversion of an existing journal into an open access one a smooth and professional process.'
Posted by
Peter Suber at 7/19/2005 04:26:00 PM.
The open access movement:
Putting peer-reviewed scientific and scholarly literature
on the internet. Making it available free of charge and
free of most copyright and licensing restrictions.
Removing the barriers to serious research.
I recommend the OA tracking project (OATP) as the best way to stay on top of new OA developments. You can read the OATP feed on a blog-like web page or subscribe to it by RSS, email, or Twitter. You can also help build the feed by tagging new developments you encounter.
