SSP announces 2020 virtual event, ‘Seeking Sustainability: Publishing Models for a Virtual Age’

If you were disappointed that you wouldn’t be able to attend our Pre-Conference Seminar at UKSG, now is your chance!  The event will now be held as a virtual event on Thursday, April 2, 2020, from 10:00-12:00 pm ET, and event registration remains open.

The event will open with a presentation by Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe (Professor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) entitled “State of the Deal: Open Access Models Today.” Following a Q&A discussion, Heather Staines (Head of Partnerships, Knowledge Futures Group) will moderate a panel discussion featuring Scott Delman (Director of Publications, ACM), Martin Paul Eve (Birkbeck, University of London and the Open Library of the Humanities), Steven Hall (Managing Director, IOP Publishing), and Jasmin Lange (Chief Publishing Officer, Brill).

Heather shared some details about what attendees can expect from this new virtual event:

Who is the intended audience, and why should they attend?

Librarians who have negotiated an alternative business model or transformative agreement with a publisher, as well as those who want to learn from the experiences of others. Publishers with or thinking of creating an alternative model can discuss their thoughts with others moving along the same path. Might also interest vendors who assist with the processing of open access fees or other payments.

Why do you think this topic is relevant and timely?

With all the buzz about funder mandates around open access, nearly all publishers large and small are considering models they might pursue that will meet new requirements. There have been many recent announcements, but there are fewer opportunities to ask questions and learn from the experiences of others.

Is there a particular topic you’re looking forward to seeing discussed?

Society publishers often use journal revenue to support conferences and professional development activities for their members. They are particularly keen to see practical examples of new models.

What do the selected speakers bring to the discussion?

Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe is Professor/Coordinator for Information Literacy Services and Instruction in the University Library at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is also an affiliate faculty member in the University’s School of Information Sciences. She has researched a wide array of transformative and alternative models. She will provide basic foundational information for attendees who might be less familiar with these new models.

Brill is a humanities publisher with hundreds of years of experience. They have announced two national consortia Read-and-Publish agreements, one in the Netherlands and one in Austria. Jasmin Lange is their Chief Publishing Officer.

The Open Library for the Humanities publishes Open Access scholarship without requiring authors to pay fees. It partners with libraries to build a sustainable model around journal publishing, and it also publishes its own journal. Professor Martin Paul Eve is the Co-CEO.

The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) announced its new model, ACM OPEN, for working with universities and consortia in November 2019. Using a tier-based system using average article publication ranges, ACM OPEN hopes to create a model with predictable pricing. Scot Delman is Director of Publications.

IOP Publishing signed a four-year agreement with JISC to provide 58 UK universities with Read + Publishing services. Articles will also be deposited in institutional repositories. Steven Hall is Managing Director at IOPP.

What can attendees expect?

Attendees can expect to hear a variety of practical case studies along with their underlying considerations and results thus far from both a publisher and library perspective. There will be ample time for discussion.

What do you hope attendees will take away from the event?

Attendees will learn that Transformative Agreements come in different flavors, and not every alternative model can be characterized as “transformative.” They will learn what factors their organization or institution should consider when seeking to conclude a new type of agreement by sharing ideas and feedback with their peers.

Click here to register now! Thank you to our sponsors, Cabells Scholarly Analytics and Charleston Library Conference.