The UK Serials Group (UKSG) TRANSFER Working Group has announced the launch of Version 2.0 of its Code of Practice (http://www.uksg.org/Transfer/Code) which seeks to improve procedures for journals transferring between publishers. The TRANSFER Code of Practice responds to the expressed needs of the scholarly journal community for consistent guidelines to help publishers ensure that journal content remains easily accessible by librarians and readers when there is a transfer between parties. Also, it seeks to ensure that the transfer process occurs with minimum disruption. Publishers are being called to publicly endorse and follow the Code of Practice which is a set of voluntary 'best practices' for the industry.
Assuming the Code of Practice succeeds in gaining broad acceptance, the TRANSFER Working Group will consider next steps, which may include establishing a more formal international committee composed of librarians, publishers, societies, agents and other interested parties. The committee could consider such issues as the development of guidelines for publishers on practical aspects of implementing the Code of Practice; the development of a simple TRANSFER Alerting Service to provide a central location for publishers to register basic details of transfers that would be openly available to libraries and other interested parties; and the development of policies and procedures for ongoing oversight of the Code, conducting periodic reviews of the effectiveness of the Code and considering future revisions to the Code.
The Code and any policies and procedures developed around the Code will be guided by openness and fairness and will be to the benefit of libraries, readers, users and other consumers. Publishers endorsing the Code will be listed on the Publisher Endorsement page at http://www.uksg.org/Transfer/Transfer_Publishers.
Earlier this year, the UK Serials Group (UKSG) TRANSFER Working Group launched Version 1.0 of its Code of Practice. The Working Group, made up of publishers, librarians and agents, revised and improved the initial draft of the Code, released in April 2007.
