Europe Expanded the "No Elsevier Deal" Zone & This Could Change Everything | Absolutely Maybe

"A couple of heavy-duty battering rams have hit the journal subscription system in Europe. And they are so big, this will likely set off a chain reaction that changes the scholarly communication system at least subtly – and possibly dramatically....

Germany and Sweden have just refused to keep paying what Elsevier is demanding for access to their journal portfolio – and walked away from negotiating further with the company. Both countries were seeking sustainable nation-wide deals for their academic institutions that covered both the cost of reading journals and the charges for publishing free-to-read articles in them. Deals are being made, or still negotiated, with other publishers.

Both countries, too, have ensured that their academic communities understand the issues, and thus are supportive enough to withstand a change in how they use journals. In Germany, 41 professors from across the country had resigned from editorships at Elsevier journals by April 2018, in solidarity with the goal of affordable, sustainable, scholarly communication. A groundswell of academics away from contributing to, and using, Elsevier journals could have consequential ripple effects....

Peru took the leap away from Elsevier when their economy improved enough to bump them out of HINARI eligibility, but not enough to be able to afford steep journal subscriptions. And spending cuts were hitting the university sector. In Taiwan, the consortium covering 75% of the country’s university simply took a stand against Elsevier’s high prices....

A couple of years ago, the zone would have included Greece and Russia, as economic crunch and/or currency fluctuations put subscriptions out of reach there. For the last few years, too, Finland, France, and the Netherlands have all teetered on the brink, but reached at least temporary deals with Elsevier. ..."