APPENDIX 52
Memorandum from NHS National Core Content
Project Team
1. What impact do publishers' current policies
on pricing and provision of scientific journals, particularly
"big deal schemes", have on libraries and the teaching
and research communities they serve?
1.1 The cost of journals has far outstripped
the rate of inflation and library budgets. Figures compiled by
Loughborough University show that between 1991-92 and 2000-01
the price of journals in the UK increased by 158%, compared to
an increase in the retails price index of 28% over the same period.
[185]
1.2 The result for individual NHS libraries
is that journal collections are under constant pressure, with
year-on-year reductions in local holdings. Only those who subscribe
to the relevant journals can access publicly funded research.
This means a large proportion of research can be difficult to
access.
1.3 Some publishers issue subscription criteria
that result in multiple subscriptions to the same journal title.
Purchasing authorities are required to guarantee that paper subscriptions
will continue, as well as a subscription to the electronic version.
In the case of national procurement, this has
resulted in some journals being paid for three times:
1.5 Some publishers impose embargoes on
electronic print, which might not be available until six months
after publication. In a research environment, this is not acceptable
and library will continue the paper subscription in order to allow
access to the latest published information.
1.6 "Big deal schemes" from publishers
may seem advantageous at first sight but typically bundle together
some high value titles which would be core to any collection with
a large number of titles of lesser worth, unlikely to appeal to
a large audience.
1.7 "Big deal schemes" are also
typically structured around electronic journals, with no guarantee
of access to the archives of these titles once an institution
terminates its subscription to the deal. Moreover, the volatility
of the publishing world means that significant component elements
of any "big deal" can be withdrawn at short notice if
a publisher changes hands or adopts a different policy towards
a given aggregator. Again, this has the effect of denying ready
access to the knowledge base to teaching and research communities,
as well as undermining their confidence in the online environment.
2. What action should Government, academic
institutions and publishers be taking to promote a competitive
market in scientific publications?
2.1 The NHS Core Content Project Team supports
the open access-publishing model, and has paid for institutional
membership for the whole NHS to the Biomed Central, to encourage
authors to publish in open access journals.
2.2 A Government statement in support of
the open access model would encourage researchers to publish in
open access journals.
2.3 We ask the Government to recommend that
all public funding bodies require that authors deposit a copy
of their final, refereed paper in a suitable, fully-searchable,
freely accessible internet repository or archive.
3. What are the consequences of increasing
numbers of open-access journals, for example for the operation
of the Research Assessment Exercise and other selection processes?
Should the Government support such a trend and, if so, how?
3.1 The RAE is currently based on journal
impact factors. It can take three to four years for a new journal
to build up impact factor discouraging publication in that journal.
The RAE should be modified to support publication of articles
in an open access environment.
3.2 Government support for open access may
help mitigate perceived risk of publishing in open access journals.
3.3 Open Access publishing needs to be endorsed
by the Government as the preferred mode of publication and an
amount included within research grants towards this purpose.
3.4 Publishers could be restricted in the
terms of copyright obtained from Authors as a move towards Open
Accessallowing the deposit of papers elsewhere.
How effectively are the Legal Deposit Libraries
making available non-print scientific publications to the research
community, and what steps should they be taking in this respect?
Unable to comment.
What impact will trends in academic journal
publishing have on the risks of scientific fraud and malpractice?
Unable to comment.
February 2004
185 Library & Information Statistics Unit (LISU),
Loughborough University. Back
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