From: "Hamill, Cheryl" <[log in to unmask]au>

Date: Mon, 6 Aug 2018 04:07:51 +0000

I’ve been thinking about the relationship between the number of hybrid open access journals with content paid for with APCs and whether it is reasonable for the off-set benefits of APCs to flow only to institutions whose authors have paid them. If an APC has been paid then at least some of the costs for production are covered regardless of the source of funding.

Should there be some overall relationship between the volume of open access content from a publisher and price? Should publishers adjust their pricing according to the quantity of APC paid open access articles?

I understand there is a significant time lag anyway in libraries being able to claim an off-set, so perhaps a simpler metric might be preferable than attempting to quantify the publication output of authors tied to an institution. As many papers have multiple authors often from multiple institutions it must make it very difficult to even link the source of an APC back to an institution (first named author?).

Having said all that though, I’m not aware of any way to reliably quantify the number of papers in hybrid journals that are open access. The metadata doesn’t seem very reliable despite NISO KBART RP-9-2014 Section 4 Open Access Metadata. We’ve certainly noted many instances where clients request document delivery from what seems to be a subscribed resource that subsequently turns out to be open access.

I’ve been trying to determine if this is a useful thought or if I’m chasing rainbows. Happy to hear if this is a useful approach to bring to renewal negotiations (claiming a global off-set for the volume of open access content) or any other sources people may recommend.

I’ve looked through a lot of websites including the following.

https://openscience.com/though-journal-subscription-deal-cancellations-increase-in-number-open-access-solutions-remain-marginal/

https://openscience.com/the-revenue-performance-of-the-open-access-article-publication-market-lags-behind-its-output-despite-growth/

https://www.jisc-collections.ac.uk/Jisc-Monitor/APC-data-collection/#template

https://scholarlycommunications.jiscinvolve.org/wp/2017/08/23/article-processing-charges-in-2016/

http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/70321/1/blogs.lse.ac.uk-The%20impact%20of%20article%20processing%20charges%20on%20libraries%20and%20what%20is%20being%20done%20to%20help.pdf

http://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/16403/1/offsetting-report.pdf

https://www.jisc.ac.uk/sites/default/files/apc-and-subscriptions-report.pdf

Cheryl Hamill, FALIA, AALIA (CP) Health | Head of Department

Library & Information Service for staff in EMHS and SMHS (from bases at Fiona Stanley and Royal Perth Hospitals)

South Metropolitan Health Service

Ground Floor, Education Centre, Fiona Stanley Hospital