New deals could help scientific societies survive open access | Science

Abstract:  Small scientific societies that publish journals are working to team up with library consortia to ink publishing deals that would transform the journals to exclusively open access. Last week, a project that included funders backing Plan S, the European-led effort to speed the transition to open access, released a set of contract templates and tips meant to help complete such deals. They could eventually eliminate subscriptions, protect society's publishing revenue, and allow authors at participating institutions to publish an unlimited number of open-access articles in those journals. Five societies and four library consortia—most of them in Europe—have committed in principle to start pilots. But some small publishers may lack the data that libraries require to negotiate such deals.