Libraries in Springer Open Choice

[Liblicense-L Listowner <liblicen@pantheon.yale.edu>]

At least 5 Springer staff subscribe to this list, and these questions are
directed first to them or to those who have spoken with Springer
policymakers and can offer up some additional information regarding the
Library subscription pricing aspect of Open Choice.

It sounds as if, from now on, the pricing for each library subscription to
Springer journals will vary, depending on the extent to which authors
exercise the Open Choice option, i.e., pay $3000, for their article(s)  
to be made freely available.

So (to keep it simple) if annually a journal title contains 100 articles
and the subscription costs $1,000, and 10 of the articles are submitted
under the Open Choice plan, then what is next year's subscription price to
each academic library customer?  Is it reduced proportionally by 1/10 to
$900?  Is the subscription price reduced for all libraries or only for
those whose authors submit under Open Choice?  Is the reduction directly
proportional to the number of articles or is there a formula of some sort
that takes into account the new year's article growth, if any?  How does
Open Choice affect pricing for titles within "package arranagements?" How
does pricing work for future years:  for example, in year one, 10 articles
are Open Choice-d; in year two, 5 articles; in year three, 15 articles. Is
a base price set for each journal each year, and how is that determined?  
Or is pricing done from now on, for all journals, on the understanding
that libraries will pay $3,000 per article?

Sorry for making a seemingly simple policy sound complicated, and thank
you for additional information, Ann Okerson/Yale Library


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Springer Open Choice for Libraries

Springer Open Choice is designed to give authors the choice of how to have
their research published in the same Springer journals to which they
usually submit. By definition, this means that Springer journals will
contain a mixture of Springer Open Choice articles, and articles published
under the traditional subscription-based model. Springer plans to continue
to evaluate its journal subscription prices on a yearly basis, based on a
number of factors, including the amount of subscription-model content
being published.

Libraries pay subscriptions for subscription-model content. Once a year
(usually mid-year) the prices for the next years subscriptions are
calculated. At that time, Springer will calculate the number of articles
published under the traditional model in the previous 12 months. If that
number is less than the twelve month period before that, then subscription
prices will decrease accordingly. If it has increased, then prices will
increase accordingly. In a nutshell: subscription prices are tied to the
amount of traditionally published, subscription-model content, with
adjustments being reflected in the next years subscription prices.

Springer Open Choice articles will always be clearly identified as such in
our online platform to provide you with a visible measurement of Springer
Open Choice adoption. For those customers with print-only subscriptions, a
report detailing Springer Open Choice adoption by journal can be obtained
at the end of each year from your Sales representative.