The National Information Standards Organization (NISO) has released a draft revision of the Transfer Code of Practice (NISO RP-24-202X) for public comment, with feedback open until May 2, 2025. The draft is available for review on the NISO project web page at https://niso.org/standards-committees/transfer.
The Transfer Code of Practice is a NISO Recommended Practice designed to ensure continued access to scholarly journal content when titles are transferred between publishers. The code facilitates a smooth transition of journal ownership, minimizing disruptions for libraries, researchers, and authors. Over 90 publishers have endorsed the code since its establishment as a NISO Recommended Practice in 2015.
The Transfer Standing Committee, which includes librarians, publishers, and other industry stakeholders, is responsible for maintaining the Transfer Alerting Service, a system hosted by the ISSN Centre that provides notifications about journal transfers. The committee also oversees regular reviews and updates to the Transfer Code of Practice to ensure that it remains aligned with evolving industry needs. The latest revision addresses community concerns regarding open-access journal transfers and introduces clarified language to improve implementation clarity.
Sophia Anderton, Chief Executive of BJU International and co-chair of the Transfer Standing Committee, emphasized that the latest update incorporates feedback on open-access content to better align the code with current publishing practices and expectations. Émilie Lavallée-Funston, Contracts and Publications Licences Officer at the University of Stirling and co-chair of the committee, noted that the revisions also include clarifications in terminology to support more effective application of the code.
Keondra Bailey, Standards Program Manager at NISO, acknowledged the contributions of the Transfer Standing Committee in updating the code and encouraged broad community participation in the public review process.
The draft is available for comment through May 2, 2025.
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