Open access in Africa — changes and challenges | Elsevier Connect

abernard102@gmail.com 2013-06-07

Summary:

"As a publisher, I have never seen so much change to how journals are published as in the last five years. When I joined Elsevier 17 years ago, the discussion was about a transition from print to electronic journals; in 2013 print journals continue to circulate, especially in Africa. However, with open access, the changes have accelerated rapidly, and almost every journal now offers authors choices on how to publish through open-access mechanisms. In this article, I talk about how things have changed, the challenges this raises and what this means for research in Africa. Open access involves making journal articles available to all, either through a paid route where authors pay to publish (Gold open access) or through making manuscript versions of the article available on websites and repositories (Green open access). These approaches enable wider dissemination of research, especially to researchers and institutions that cannot afford subscriptions. But while this access is good for enabling research and improving productivity, it also brings challenges to the various stakeholders involved in the process. For example: [1] Many funding organizations and governments that provide research grants to investigators wish to have this research published open-access, especially since much of this funding comes from public sources. [2] Universities also want to ensure that the research they produce is showcased to the world and their researchers are promoted so they will bring in new funding contracts, build their expertise and ultimately enhance the institution’s reputation. [3] Publishers want to maximize the visibility of their journals and ensure the widest readership possible, but need this to happen in an economically sustainable way to ensure their journals survive. [4] Librarians are now managing both subscription and open-access content and are a vital point for other stakeholders to consult on the developing journal landscape. Often this involves the challenge of administering policy and approach to open-access across their institution. [5] Finally, and most importantly the researchers themselves want their research to be available to others and to enable the widest recognition of their work, but they also need to consider all of the policies that the other stakeholders have developed. Understandably, researchers are finding this difficult, and it is the responsibility of the other stakeholders to make this easier. At Elsevier, we work with these stakeholders to build agreements for open access and develop workflows that enable authors to comply with the wishes of their employers and funders. This also ensures that open access is delivered in a sustainable way. Recently, I had the opportunity to host a conference in Kenya in cooperation with the African Academy of Sciences ... This event brought together members of key research organizations from across Africa to discuss the open access. This was a fantastic opportunity to hear the experiences and approach of stakeholders in Africa towards open access and to learn more about how publishers can assist in the process enhancing access to African research.  I was not surprised to hear that many of the adjustments that we are all facing in an open access world are just as prevalent within Africa and that there is still a lot to be done to meet our objective of sustainable access to research content. However, there were some additional considerations for Africa that are important to consider when finding ways to broaden access: [1] The infrastructure to enable access to research needs to be assessed ... As an example, Elsevier has developed applications to enable our products, such as ScienceDirect and Scopus to be used on cellphones. This development needs to continue to ensure that access is enhanced ...  [2] Many African researchers continue to rely on paper format articles to read their journals, so the transition from print to electronic needs to be assessed on a local basis.  My colleague Belinda Tudin, Health Sciences Business Director for the East Mediterranean, Central Asia and Africa, spoke at the conference and described several new Elsevier journals in Africa (including African Journal of Emergency Medicine International Journal of Africa Nursing Sciences and the developing African Cancer Journalwhich will all provide print versions  ... [3] he cost of open access (in its Gold form) is too high for many in Africa, so publishers need to consider alternative arrangements. Elsevier has a range of prices for authors to publish open access with us, which depend upon the journal, the research field, funding levels and other important factors. However, in the majority of cases, African authors do not have the funding to enable open access in this way and need a solution. In response, many publishers, including Elsevier, offer alternative pricing options

Link:

http://elsevierconnect.com/open-access-in-africa-changes-and-challenges/

From feeds:

Open Access Tracking Project (OATP) » abernard102@gmail.com

Tags:

oa.new oa.gold oa.business_models oa.publishers oa.comment oa.green oa.universities oa.elsevier oa.libraries oa.impact oa.prestige oa.librarians oa.prices oa.infrastructure oa.funders oa.africa oa.fees oa.embargoes oa.colleges oa.repositories oa.hei oa.journals oa.south

Date tagged:

06/07/2013, 19:08

Date published:

06/07/2013, 15:08