Open access uptake: 5 years on

"In 2009 the average uptake of the open access option for participating [hybrid OA] journals [from Oxford University Press] fell to 5.9%, compared with 6.7% in 2008. This reduction was due to a lower uptake amongst 11 new titles joining Oxford Open in 2009. On a like-for-like basis, the average uptake in 2009 for journals which entered the scheme prior to 2008 was stable (6.7%, compared with 6.8% in 2008)....[B]y broad subject area the highest uptake continues to be in the Life Sciences (11.4% compared with 11.2% in 2008)...." [PS: Oxford erroneously concludes that declining support for fee-based gold OA, during a recession, points to declining support for OA itself. Some press coverage and blog posts on the Oxford numbers make the same mistake.]