Preliminary investigation: Supporting open infrastructure for preprints | Invest in Open Infrastructure, 3 October 2022

"...We are concerned that the preprints ecosystem is not yet financially sustainable, with services dependent on substantial voluntary and in-kind contributions that aren’t fully accounted for in financial plans and are not reliable for long-term strategic planning. The majority of preprints are not shared using open infrastructure. Overall, we find the potential of preprints in open scholarly communication is not yet fully realized and is at risk from competition with for-profit, commercial, and other proprietary solutions. While developments in the existing journal publishing ecosystem make it possible to more rapidly share work, we risk losing the opportunity for this activity to be done on community-governed infrastructure built on open source tools that is transparent and accountable to its stakeholders. To address these challenges and concerns, we recommend work to: Raise awareness of the potential benefits and drawbacks of using existing open services for preprints as shared infrastructure. Support research and development (and testing) of business models that could work at a larger scale. Advocate for increased investment in projects and initiatives that support preprints to enable more inclusive and equitable participation in science and scholarship."