February 29th 2008
University of California at Berkeley
The debate on Open Access raves on but stays, in many quarters, just a debate. The High-Energy Physics community, which gave us the web and arXiv, is now pushing forward with an Open Access model that goes beyond the present, controversial, proposals. This new model is called the Sponsoring Consortium for Open Access Publishing in Particle Physics (SCOAP3). In the SCOAP3 model, libraries federate to explicitly cover the costs of peer-review, through a re-direction of their current subscriptions, rather than implicitly supporting peer- review via journal subscriptions, as in the present system. Rather than selling subscriptions, journals will then charge for the peer- review service and make the electronic versions of their journals free to read. Authors are not directly charged to publish their articles Open Access. SCOAP3 will negotiate with major publishers in the field the price of their peer review services through a tendering process. Journals converted to Open Access will be decoupled from package licenses.
Read the report describing the SCOAP3 initiative and the executive summary.
SCOAP3 has the potential to enable medium- and long-term cost savings for research universities and laboratories. The consortium is rapidly gaining momentum: in a few months, many European countries have expressed their interest in joining and many more are expected to follow suit in the coming months, with more and more awareness rising in Asia. About a third of the required budget envelope has already been pledged. But without broad consensus and involvement from the leading US libraries and library consortia, SCOAP3 cannot happen.
Therefore, we would like to invite you to a US SCOAP3 focal meeting at the University of California at Berkeley on February 29, 2008.
This is an opportunity for individual libraries and library consortia to learn more about this unique initiative. The goal of this event is to explain the SCOAP3 model objectives and implementation and to bring together our insight and experience to understand how a re- direction of subscriptions toward SCOAP3 might be achieved.
The FAQ is a good place to start to learn more about SCOAP3. Consult the list of list of libraries in the U.S. that have already pledged to re-direct their subscription funds.
» Register here
» Read the program of the event and related information
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