European Commission envoy warns about mirror journals as way around open-access requirements

peter.suber's bookmarks 2019-01-25

Summary:

"Research funders are being “taken for a ride” by publishers who launch new so-called mirror journals that mimic existing titles in an open-access format, according to the man spearheading an international effort to make more scholarship freely available.

Robert-Jan Smits, the European Commission’s open-access envoy, said there was something “fishy” about mirror journals, which duplicate the title and editorial board of existing, subscription-based journals.

Some of these mirror journals have emerged since the launch last September of the international initiative Plan S, led by Smits, which would make immediate open access mandatory for academics who win grants from participating funders....

Some publishers see mirror journals as a way of allowing researchers to continue to submit to a near identical journal while remaining Plan S compliant.

But the fear for those leading Plan S is that publishers will end up being paid twice: once for subscription to the original, closed journal, then again when collecting payments from researchers to publish open access in the mirror.

This “double-dipping” criticism has also been leveled at hybrid journals, which contain a mixture of closed and open-access articles...."

Link:

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/01/24/european-commission-envoy-warns-about-mirror-journals-way-around-open-access

From feeds:

Open Access Tracking Project (OATP) » peter.suber's bookmarks

Tags:

oa.new oa.gold oa.journals.mirror oa.elsevier oa.europe oa.compliance oa.hybrid oa.double_dipping oa.policies.funders oa.mandates oa.plan_s oa.policies oa.journals oa.funders

Date tagged:

01/25/2019, 09:47

Date published:

01/25/2019, 04:47