This week, we explore all things open access: the launch of OpenAlex, 1 year of Plan S, open access textbooks, Wiley’s expansion of its open access agreements into East Asia, and the diverse ecosystem of open access publishing. We also look at Ipsen’s commitment to PLS for all human studies.
To read:
The launch of OpenAlex via Nature | 3-minute read
OpenAlex, named in homage to the ancient Library of Alexandria in Egypt, is an open access database of more than 200 million scientific documents. Thanks to the services of OurResearch and funding from Arcadia Fund, OpenAlex is a freely accessible alternative to Dimensions, Scopus and Web of Science that enables users to conduct searches and build research tools. It can currently be accessed through an application programming interface, but a new, user-friendly interface is also planned for release in February 2022.
cOAlition S publishes the Plan S annual report | via cOAlition S | 15-minute read
As of 1 January 2021, cOAlition S implemented Plan S, which requires scientific publications resulting from research funded by public grants to be published in compliant open access journals or platforms. A year on, this report summarizes the activities undertaken in 2021 and the levels of open access compliance among cOAlition S funders, with 80% of open access articles published using either the gold (fully open access journal) or the hybrid (subscription journal with some open access content) model. The report also contains the latest news on tools and services in development, such as the Journal Checker Tool and the Journal Comparison Service.
Ipsen commit to PLS via Ipsen | 2-minute read
Ipsen have pledged to publish plain language summaries (PLS) for all company-sponsored journal publications from human studies from July 2022. By making their research more accessible and inclusive, this pledge to provide PLS should augment conversations between patients and healthcare providers, with the aim of improving patient outcomes. The Ipsen process for developing PLS will follow published recommendations.
Promoting open-source textbooks in academia via The Hatchet | 5-minute read
The rising costs of course textbooks means that students at US universities face a significant financial burden each semester. With students spending an average of $153 per course, this article calls on professors to make use of open access textbooks (such as those on OpenStax) when assigning reading materials. University administrators also have a responsibility to urge faculty members to use cost-effective options in their classes.
Wiley’s first open access agreement in East Asia via STM Publishing News | 2-minute read
Wiley have announced a 3-year open access agreement with the National Research Council of Science and Technology (NST) in the Republic of Korea, which will enable researchers at eligible institutions to publish accepted articles open access in Wiley’s hybrid journals. This partnership with the NST will increase the volume of research by Korean scientists published open access and adds to the 12 open access agreements signed by Wiley in 2021.
Diversity in open access models via The Scholarly Kitchen | 7-minute read
Bronze, diamond/platinum, gold, green and hybrid open access models, and transformative agreements between publishers and libraries – these are just some examples of the diversity offered in scholarly publishing. This opinion piece explores the wide range of options offered by publishers and considers whether these exist to offer innovation or rather to allow publishers to appear unique and to help define their brand.
To engage with:
Publishing open access books via Liverpool John Moores University
As part of Open Research Week, join Lucy Barnes (Community-led Open Publication Infrastructures for Monographs and Open Book Publishers), Charles Watkinson (University of Michigan Press) and Demmy Verbeke (KU Leuven Libraries Artes) on 16 February 2022 for a roundtable discussion on open access book publishing. Topics of discussion will include the new library publishing programme Fund to Mission, the Fair OA Fund to support non-profit open access initiatives, and building new infrastructure to support open access books.
Have you read our recommendations for plain language summaries of peer-reviewed medical journal publications? Find out more here and join the discussion on social media using the hashtag #PlainLanguageSummaries!
