Open Access: Letter to Editors

The open-access/author-pays debate was heightened by the Public Library of Science's first free online journal, PLoS Biology, launched October 2003. This heightened debate has had the added benefit of improving communication channels between commercial publishers and the scientific, technical and medical (STM) publishing community.

A letter sent from Elsevier to its journal editors is one part of the process in which commercial publishing has sought feedback on the possible new business model.

Opening communication
Response to this debate has been interesting both for Elsevier and for the editors polled. Editors responded enthusiastically to the initiative taken by Elsevier to open the lines of communication in a constructive way.

"There was appreciation that Elsevier was opening lines of communication about the matter of open access, and about the future of STM publishing and how Elsevier can best serve the informational needs of the community going forward," says Jasna Markovac, Director of Development, Elsevier, San Diego.

Troubling paradigm
Unsurprisingly, respondents are glad to be included in the discussion of such a fundamental change proposed for academic publishing and communication. In academic and scientific fields where 'publish or perish' is a rule for survival as well as for possible advancement, the author-pays model, if widely adopted, would disrupt any semblance of meritocracy by the creation of a who-pays-wins paradigm.

The Elsevier communication initiative is seen as proactive and sensitive to the seriousness of the debate. "Elsevier is open-minded and willing to adapt", says Markovac.

Author pays?
A direct result of the letter sent to the editors is improved clarity concerning the alternative business model. Called variously open access, Open Access/PLoS, open-access/author-pays, and author-pays, it is sometimes confused with issues of access to academic and scientific articles referred to by many in STM publishing as the 'the minutes of science'.

Access today
In fact, the model is less to do with access than it appears. Already, 70% of users wishing to access content can walk into any library and find what they need via inter-library loan systems. As another example, ScienceDirect®', the Elsevier electronic platform, already provides access for approximately ten million researchers in current practice.

Online access
There is no doubt that online access has revolutionized publishing. Neutrality from academic and other politics, copyright protection for authors, and secure continuity of the scientific record, however, are issues of ongoing importance for both forms of STM publishing.

While electronic publishing as a whole is gradually maturing, the author-pays model of electronic publishing still does not provide a viable model to cope with the real costs, continuity, and ways to manage these in its model.

Real costs
In fact, while author-pays publishers are currently charging authors $500-$1500 per published article, the actual cost of publishing an article electronically or otherwise is much higher, sometimes several times higher. Author-pays publishers expect to be able to make up the difference through sponsorships, charitable donations, and other sources.

Payment stream
Whether this would remove the burden of payment from current streams or simply repackage the same payment streams is not known. The evidence does suggest, however, that the author-pays model is not viable without continuous financial subsidy of some kind.

The author-pays business model is losing its momentum in many communities as the issue is clarified and the burdens of payment and sustainability become more apparent.

Pricing policy
The editors polled responded with strong comments about commercial publishers' pricing policies, Elsevier's in particular. Even though Elsevier has implemented single-digit increases in the past six years, pricing policy is still perceived as too high. "Elsevier has significantly lowered its price increases in 1999, when ScienceDirect® was launched in the market. From 1999 onwards Elsevier price increases have been consistently below market average, and also significantly below 10%." says Markovac.

No matter what the real costs involved in publishing and the benefits to the STM community, perception among editors responding to the letter from Elsevier is that pricing has to be addressed and reviewed as quickly as possible.

Flexibility
"We continually monitor possible business models including the author-pays model. Our publishing strategies are continually evaluated with the changing market in mind so that we can respond flexibly to the needs of our customers," says Markovac.

Changing times
Publishing is certainly in a state of transition. Traditional publishing, while seen by some as old school, has consistently changed and moved with changing times. In Elsevier's case, this has meant incorporating electronic publishing while continuing to provide ongoing support and nurture to new areas of academia and science.

Of course, pricing models must change and evolve and all avenues must be explored transparently to allow them to fly or fail. No matter what business models come to be adopted, all elements of publishing must be supported in a sustainable way. These elements include authors, readers, institutions, and publishers.