The Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers (ALPSP) is to trial a hybrid Open Access business model on its Learned Publishing title. Dubbed ALPSP Author Choice, contributing authors to the journal will be able to make an online version of their article available for free. However, the authors will face a fee of £1,250 ($2,500) for using the service, for non-members of the ALPSP the cost rises to £1,500 ($3,000).
ALPSP say they are testing a hybrid model to “see if it provides a viable way of sustaining the costs of peer review, editing and other aspects of journal publication,” Learned Publishing already operates a delayed Open Access model which allows free online access of papers after an initial 12-month wait.
Ian Russell, CEO of ALPSP, explained the organisations reasons for this latest move, he said; “Many of the over 350 members of ALPSP are trialling open access business models for their journals. We have always supported the need for serious debate backed by experimentation in order to help determine the effects, both positive and negative, of Open Access.” ...
The trial period will run for 12 months, once that time frame has elapsed the ALPSP Council will review the success of the model as well as the level of current subscription rates.
Adding to Russell’s comments, Sally Morris, Editor-In-Chief of Learned Publishing said, “Our journal carries many articles reflecting the great interest in the topic of Open Access. I am delighted that our publisher feels able to test the water itself, by launching an ‘Open Access choice’ for our own authors. We shall be monitoring author’s responses with close interest.”
PS: For background, see the ALPSP announcement and my blog comments on it, both from July 30, 2007.
Posted by
Peter Suber at 8/30/2007 06:13:00 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.
