Ensuring arXiv’s Future | Cornell University Library News

“arXiv, the free repository that has revolutionized the way scientists share information, is adopting a new governance and business model that will allow it to grow and succeed in the future.  Thanks to an operating grant from the Simons Foundation, Cornell University Library has helped arXiv take a major step toward sustainability. Beginning in January and running through 2017, the Simons Foundation will provide up to $300,000 per year as a matching gift for the funds generated through arXiv’s membership fees.  The grant also provides $50,000 per year as an ‘unconditional gift’ that recognizes the Library’s stewardship of arXiv. ‘arXiv is now recognized as a public good that’s critical to scientists,’ Anne R. Kenney, Carl A. Kroch University Librarian. ‘Through the generous support of the Simons Foundation and our member institutions, a tool that has transformed scholarly communication is becoming self-sustaining, and the Library is proud to help facilitate that transformation.’ ‘For me and for a large fraction of the active researchers in mathematics, physics and computer science, interaction with the arXiv is a daily practice. arXiv has changed the way we access information. This new resource is even more important for the many scientists who don’t have direct access to great libraries,’ said David Eisenbud, Director of Mathematics and the Physical Sciences at the Simons Foundation.  The Library has been steering arXiv toward sustainability since January 2010, when it launched an initiative to create a business model that would engage libraries and research laboratories that benefit most from arXiv’s service. A 2011 planning grant from Simons Foundation helped arXiv’s leaders develop operating principles and establish a governing board for the new model.  Annual membership fees, paid by voluntary contribution from these institutions, help cover arXiv’s costs — and, now, will provide a sum for the Simons Foundation to match.  The newly established model has garnered partners all over the globe. To date, more than 120 member institutions in over a dozen countries have pledged their support, totaling $285,000. Among the 100 institutions that use arXiv most heavily, nearly three-quarters committed to five-year pledges.  ‘The sustainability planning process focused on how to diversify revenue models — but, equally importantly, we wanted to make sure arXiv could establish a set of governance principles. It’s setting an example of a transparent and reliable community-supported service,’ said Oya Rieger, arXiv Program Director and Associate University Librarian for Digital Scholarship Services.  arXiv has been based at Cornell since founder Paul Ginsparg joined the faculty in 2001. The repository includes research in physics, mathematics, statistics, computer science and related disciplines.  As an open-access service, it allows scientists to share ‘preprint’ research before publication and boasts hundreds of thousands of contributors. In 2011 alone, arXiv saw close to 50 million downloads from all over the world and received more than 76,000 new submissions.”