EDP Open survey reveals Learned society attitudes towards Open Access

"May 27th, 2014. EDP Open, the Open Access publishing arm of EDP Sciences, has today released the results of a survey to appraise attitudes toward Open Access amongst learned society publishers. The survey was answered by 33 learned societies and the results were further supplemented by a focus group held at the annual UKSG meeting in Harrogate in April. Key findings include: Learned societies overwhelmingly agree that Open Access will inevitably place some learned societies’ journals into financial jeopardy. Competing with large Open Access specialist publishers was also considered a significant challenge for learned societies. Gold Open Access is the Open Access method that is least offered by learned society journals, however nearly two-thirds of learned societies indicated that they would like to be offering this option. More than ever before, with so many journals being published Open Access of dubious origin, learned societies should look to endorse content with a stamp of quality and authority. Collaboration between learned societies could help in the transition to Open Access, by pooling resources and sharing complex tasks. Two-thirds of all learned societies are also looking for support on best approach to OA, and compliance with funder mandates."