ALPSP - Learned Publishing Announces Author Choice

[Ann Okerson <ann.okerson@yale.edu>]

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 journa 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 
pound31,250/$2,500 for members of ALPSP and the Society for 
Scholarly Publishing (SSP) and pounds 31,500/$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/> 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 <http://www.alpsp.org/> in cooperation with the 
Society for Scholarly Publishing <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 
<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 
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
ian.russell@alpsp.org
+44 (0)1275 856 444

Nick Evans
Publisher
nick.evans@alpsp.org
+44 (0)208 789 2394

Sally Morris
Editor-in-Chief
editor@alpsp.org
+44 (0)1903 876 286

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