Elsevier to Flip Seven Subscription Journals to Open Access in 2014

Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, today announced that it will flip seven established subscription journals to a gold open access model starting from 1st January 2014.

These titles include Physics Letters B and Nuclear Physics B as part of Elsevier’s participation in the SCOAP3  (Sponsoring Consortium for Open Access Publishing in Particle Physics) initiative. Other titles include Stem Cell ResearchThe International Journal of Infectious Diseases, Developmental Cognitive NeuroscienceEpidemicsand EJC Supplements.

“This announcement is part of Elsevier’s ongoing effort to help facilitate further implementation of open access options”, said Philippe Terheggen, Managing Director of STM journals at Elsevier. “In areas where we have seen a clear uptake and support for open access publishing from authors, funders and the wider community we have made the decision to flip the journal. Our priority is always to focus on what authors need and to provide the best quality journal which will serve the community regardless of the business model.”

Journals that are changed from subscription-based to open access will retain the same editorial standards and instead of through subscriptions, the publication costs of the journals will be covered through an article processing fees paid by the authors or, in the case of Physics Letters B and Nuclear Physics B, by the SCOAP3 consortium. Libraries will no longer need to subscribe to these titles, and past issues remain accessible to subscribers through their collection agreements.

“As high-energy physics journals flip to open access, this is a time of reflection,” said Salvatore Mele, who led the development of the SCOAP3 initiative at CERN. “Hard work and close collaboration have brought this open access initiative into reality. Many different stakeholders have reached unprecedented consensus: libraries, funding agencies, research organizations and publishers such as Elsevier. All together they have made this possible.” – See more at: http://www.elsevier.com/about/press-releases/research-and-journals/elsevier-to-flip-seven-subscription-journals-to-open-access-in-2014#sthash.RP90WGWr.dpuf