CU Boulder’s three-year contract with Elsevier expires at midnight on Dec. 31, 2023, after which the university has agreed to a contract extension for access to read the publisher’s academic journals as negotiations continue over renewing a multi-year contract.
The temporary contract extension expires on Jan. 31, 2024.
The University Libraries at CU Boulder are negotiating with Elsevier as part of a consortium of 16 research universities in Colorado and Wyoming known as the Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries. Negotiations have been ongoing for the past six months as the libraries seek an agreement with Elsevier that supports a sustainable academic publishing model.
The Boulder Faculty Assembly, which is the representative body of the faculty in the shared governance of the university, passed a resolution on Oct. 5, 2023, supporting the Libraries mission for equitable access to information and author’s rights. Approved without dissent, the resolution recognizes the impact of subscription costs on the campus budget and champions open access to information and protecting authors rights to retain copyright of their work.
Elsevier is the world’s largest publisher of scholarly journals, with 70 offices in 24 countries. It publishes 2,500 journals, including The Lancet and Cell Press, covering topics in science, technology, engineering, health/medicine, and other areas.
The Alliance institutions collectively have more than 180,000 students in Colorado and Wyoming and thousands of faculty. Their Elsevier journal subscriptions cost the group more than $7 million annually or $21 million for the three-year contract.
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