From: Maria Campbell <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Wed, 19 Dec 2018 13:16:51 +0000

*With apologies for cross-posting*

Dear colleagues,

Please see below some information I believe may be of interest to
readers of this list.

The full press release is also available on the EDP Sciences news page.

For any questions, please contact Charlotte Van Rooyen, Head of
Marketing and Communications, EDP Sciences,
[log in to unmask]

Thank you for your attention.

Maria Campbell
Marketing Communications Manager
------

Astronomy & Astrophysics signs transformative Open Access agreement
with Max Planck Society

Paris, France 18 December 2018. Astronomy & Astrophysics (A&A) the
international Journal that publishes papers on all aspects of
astronomy and astrophysics and one of the leading journals in its
field, has signed a two-year transformative Open Access agreement with
the Max Planck Society in Germany. Under this agreement, funds
previously paid by the Max Planck Digital Library for subscriptions
will, instead, be converted into a publishing fund, enabling
corresponding authors from the Max Planck Institutes to publish their
articles open access in A&A, and at the same time, granting access to
the journal’s content to all Max Planck researchers.

André Moitinho de Almeida, Chairperson of the Board of Directors of
A&A said: “We have carefully considered the shift in the scholarly
landscape and strongly believe that, for our authors and society as a
whole, open access is something A&A must be actively engaged with
whilst ensuring the sustainability of the journal. As a leading voice
in the Open Access movement, and a leader in our field of research we
are delighted to have signed this transformative agreement with the
Max Planck Society in our 50th anniversary year. The period of this
agreement will allow us to gather data evidence and expose the various
practical and workflow related challenges that are all needed for a
true and meaningful assessment of success.”

“As publisher of A&A, we are pleased to have reached this agreement
with the Max Planck Society to convert subscription fees into Open
Access publishing funds,” commented Anne Simoneau, Sales Director at
EDP Sciences. “As a not-for-profit publisher, open access reflects our
values and goals and this agreement further reinforces EDPs’ mission
for dissemination of important research that accelerates scientific
progress and cross-fertilisation of ideas of society in general.”

Ralf Schimmer, Head of Information at the Max Planck Digital Library,
said: “This is a key agreement for the Max Planck Society, as
Astronomy is one of our strongest fields of research, and A&A stands
out as being extremely relevant to our authors, given the consistently
high number of papers they submit to this seminal journal. This
transformative agreement is therefore another significant step forward
in our strategy to deliver Open Access to our researchers and the
world.”

ENDS

About Astronomy & Astrophysics

Astronomy & Astrophysics (A&A) is an international Journal published
by EDP Sciences that publishes papers on all aspects of astronomy and
astrophysics. 15th May 2018 marked the beginning of the 50th
anniversary of A&A, a significant milestone for one of the leading
original research journals in the field. Since its launch half a
century ago as the fusion of 6 national journals and in collaboration
with ESO, A&A has published nearly 650 volumes and special issues,
disseminating the highest quality scientific research to the academic
community. The journal is governed by a Board of Directors, whose
members are designated by the Member Countries. The Board decides on
the policies for A&A which include the general guidelines for
publishing, the selection of the Editors, the various financial
aspects, as well as the membership of countries.

About EDP Sciences

EDP Sciences is a not-for-profit publisher with nearly 100 years of
history. Established in 1920 by the French Physics Society and several
renowned scientists and industrialists including Louis de Broglie,
Jean Perrin and Marie Curie, EDP Sciences is still owned by learned
societies and has a mission to participate in the dissemination of
important research that accelerates scientific progress and
cross-fertilisation of ideas of the society in general. EDP publishes
over 70 scientific journals in the physical sciences, mathematics,
life and environmental sciences, energy, materials and engineering,
health and biomedical sciences. It also publishes conference
proceedings (www.webofconferences.org) and books.

About the Max Planck Society

The Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science (www.mpg.de/en)
is an independent, non-profit research organization. Focusing on
research fields that are particularly innovative, the 83 Max Planck
Institutes conduct basic research in the service of the general public
in the natural sciences, life sciences, social sciences, and the
humanities. More than 15,000 studies by its researchers are published
each year in internationally renowned scientific journals.

For more information:
Charlotte Van Rooyen
Head of Marketing and Communications
EDP Sciences
www.edpsciences.org
Email: [log in to unmask]