Learned Publishing launches trial ‘Open Access’ option
For Immediate Release – 30th July 2007
The Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers (ALPSP),
publisher of Learned Publishing – the leading journal on scholarly and
professional publishing – announces a hybrid ‘Open Access’ option whereby
authors can choose to make their articles freely available online
immediately on publication, on payment of a fee.
The Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers (ALPSP,
http://www.alpsp.org), publisher of Learned Publishing – the leading journal
on scholarly and professional publishing – announces the launch of ‘ALPSP
Author Choice’, an optional Open Access model whereby authors can choose to
make the online version of their article freely available to all immediately
on publication. The fee for this optional service is £1,250/$2,500 for
members of ALPSP and the Society for Scholarly Publishing (SSP) and
£1,500/$3,000 for non-members. ‘ALPSP Author Choice’ is being launched on a
trial basis by ALPSP, the international association for non-profit
publishers and those who work with them. The first article to be published
under the new service appeared in the July 2007 issue of the journal
(Volume 20, No 3), and is entitled ‘Going all the way: how Hindawi became an
open access publisher’ by Paul Peters (http://dx.doi.org/
<http://dx.doi.org/10.1087/095315107X204049> 10.1087/095315107X204049).
Learned Publishing already provides ‘Delayed Open Access’: all papers can be
accessed free of charge 12 months after publication. The journal is also
freely accessible to all ALPSP and SSP members, and to participants in the
HINARI and AGORA projects.
The new open access option is being tested by ALPSP to see if it provides a
viable way of sustaining the costs of peer review, editing and other aspects
of journal publication.
ALPSP’s CEO, Ian Russell, said today: ‘Many of the over 350 members of ALPSP
are trialling open access business models for their journals. We have always
supported the need for serious debate backed by experimentation in order to
help determine the effects, both positive and negative, of Open Access. We
see this initiative as a useful way of establishing if an author-side
payment choice can be viable for a journal such as Learned Publishing, which
currently involves a combination of subscription, advertising, and
membership income to support its publication.’
The Editor-in-Chief of Learned Publishing, Sally Morris, commented: ‘Our
journal carries many articles reflecting the great interest in the topic of
Open Access. I am delighted that our publisher feels able to test the water
itself, by launching an ‘Open Access choice’ for our own authors. We shall
be monitoring authors’ responses with close interest.’
The ‘ALPSP Author Choice' service is being offered on a trial basis that
will run for 12 months, before being reviewed by ALPSP Council, at which
point the current subscription rates will also be considered.
Notes for editors
About Learned Publishing
Learned Publishing (http://www.learned-publishing.org
<http://www.learned-publishing.org/> ) is the leading journal on scholarly
and professional publishing, carrying research articles, case studies and
informed opinion. It was first published in 1988; it is published
quarterly. It is published by the Association of Learned and Professional
Society Publishers (ALPSP; www.alpsp.org <http://www.alpsp.org/> ) in
cooperation with the Society for Scholarly Publishing (SSP; www.sspnet.org
<http://www.sspnet.org/> ). The current Editor-in-Chief is Sally Morris; the
North American Editor is Priscilla Markwood.
About the Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers
The Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers (ALPSP;
www.alpsp.org) is the only international trade association representing all
types of non-profit publishers as well as the largest trade association for
scholarly and professional publishers. It has over 350 members in 36
countries, who collectively publish over 10,000 journals – around half the
world’s total - as well as books, databases and other products and services.
ALPSP's mission is to play an active part in shaping the future of academic
and professional communication, promoting '
<http://www.alpsp.org/ForceDownload.asp?id=126> Scholarship-Friendly
Publishing'. At this time of unprecedented change in the publishing
environment, we believe that non-profit publishers have a unique role to
play. We therefore aim to serve, represent and strengthen the community of
non-profit publishers, and those who work with them.
Media Contacts
Ian Russell
Chief Executive
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+44 (0)1275 856 444
Nick Evans
Publisher
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+44 (0)208 789 2394
Sally Morris
Editor-in-Chief
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+44 (0)1903 876 286
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