Impact of Social Sciences – Let Elsevier Go: The potential savings from cancelling journal subscriptions would cover the Open Access transition.

"A central question for many people involved in Open Access is whether it can, or will save money. Most analyses suggest that a fully OA environment is cheaper (or at worst similar in cost) for institutions (see below for the catch that every analysis that says costs will rise misses). But for research intensive institutions in particular, taking the lead by investing in a transition to Open Access while also covering the costs of existing subscriptions could be expensive. At the same time real concerns are emerging about some traditional publishers successfully driving costs higher. How can countries and institutions invest in creating an Open Access environment that serves their needs and brings costs down without spending too much on the transition? This issue has been getting attention recently due to a press release from the team negotiating a new contract for the Elsevier subscription for the Netherlands. The release is interesting for a whole range of reasons – which can be the subject of later posts – but here I want to focus on the financial implications of a full scale cancellation ..."