Thousands of German researchers set to lose access to Elsevier journals | Science | AAAS

"BERLIN—Thousands of researchers across Germany are bracing for the likelihood that after 31 December they won’t have online access to hundreds of journals produced by Dutch publishing giant Elsevier. Negotiations about a massive collective deal with the company stranded earlier this month, and many German institutes seem determined not to budge—even if it complicates the lives of their researchers.

A consortium of hundreds of universities, technical schools, research institutes, and public libraries joined together in 2014 to form 'Project DEAL' to negotiate a new nationwide arrangement with Elsevier and other publishers for online access to journals. Formal talks with Elsevier began in August, with the stated goal to draft a contract that would go into effect on 1 January 2017. More than 60 participating organizations have since canceled their current subscriptions effective 31 December. On 2 December, however, the Alliance of Science Organisations in Germany, which coordinates DEAL, released a statement saying that Elsevier’s initial offer did not meet its requirements for open access and that the company was asking too much money."