Re: JISC Invitation to Tender: Open Access Publishing Initiative Round 2

["Sally Morris \(ALPSP\)" <chief-exec@alpsp.org>]

There is, however, a major flaw in the JISC approach - the timing.

For a publisher - particularly, but not only, one such as a learned
society whose other activities are entirely dependent on its (modest)
surplus from publishing - changing the business model is a major step.  
Such a step cannot possibly be taken without lengthy and careful
deliberation over (I would guess) at least 6 months - not 6 weeks

And such a change has to take effect, to make any sense, from the
beginning of a subscription year, which runs from January to December.  
Publishers make their pricing decisions for the following year in the
early Summer and announce their prices in August or (at a pinch) September
- renewals are already starting to arrive from September onwards.

The JISC announcement is, therefore, once again far too late to stimulate
any change in publishers' thinking.  All it will do is provide windfall
support for those who have already decided to test the Open Access model
on either an optional/hybrid or a full, immediate OA model.  This makes
the initiative, to my mind, a missed opportunity

Sally Morris, Chief Executive
Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers
South House, The Street, Clapham, Worthing, West Sussex BN13 3UU, UK

Phone:  +44 (0)1903 871686 Fax:  +44 (0)1903 871457
E-mail:  chief-exec@alpsp.org
ALPSP Website  http://www.alpsp.org