Marketing and sales consulting firm Publishers Communication Group (PCG), a division of Publishing Technology, has released the results of a new survey, according to which, academic libraries are getting more involved in the cataloguing and funding of Gold Open Access (OA) publications. Gold Open Access, though generally understood as the freely-accessible, ‘author pays’ model, may actually be covered by sources such as grant funders, employer subsidies or institutional library budgets, the study confirmed.
Seeking to bridge the perspectives of PCG’s publisher and library customers, the survey of 150 librarians from 30 different countries found that at present, the responsibility for funding article processing charges (APCs) is still more likely to fall on the author (47 percent) or granting organization (38 percent) than the institution (24 percent) or library. However, nearly a quarter of respondents stated that the library does provide funding for APCs, which often comes from existing library materials budget. It was estimated that this cost equates to less than 1 percent of the budget for traditional subscriptions, with 19 percent of institutions establishing a ceiling for APCs, typically ranging from $2,000-3,000.
72 percent of libraries also reported cataloguing OA resources, though many estimated these to represent just 1-5 percent of total catalogue listings. Librarians determine which OA titles to catalogue from a variety of factors, notably the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) and Beall’s List of Predatory Open Access Publishers, in addition to relevancy and faculty recommendations.
The future involvement of librarians in the OA movement is inconclusive, with some believing the fiscal responsibility should lie solely with the author and others stating that the library should play a central role by controlling APC funds.
PCG Senior Publishing Consultant, Janet Fisher will discuss the results of the survey during the session, Open for Discussion: Open Access Resources and the Role of Academic Libraries on, November 6 from 12:45-2:00 pm at the 2014 Charleston Conference. The full report is available at pcgplus.com/whitepapers.
