Scientists and subscription journals tussling for power

A recent controversy triggers long-standing debate over subscription vs open- access journals. Fatima Arkin reports.

科学家对开放访问期刊变得越来越感兴趣。他们看到了优势：更多的工作引用，以及来自publishers，尤其是那些居住在欧洲的人，他们面临政治压力，要转向开放通道。

But two years shy of a deadline set by the European Union to make all publicly funded scientific papers in the region open-access, some publishers continue to introduce new subscription-based journals — and in the process, face pushback from the global scientific community.

自然出版集团是施普林格自然的一部分，最近宣布即将出版的骚动Nature Machine Intelligence(NMI) journal will be subscription-based.

“It’s the scientists who hold the power,” Tom Olijhoek, editor-in-chief of the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), a global directory based in the UK, tellsscidev.net。“服务卖方取决于客户，而不是相反。因此，如果科学家或资助者选择开放访问，则出版商将必须遵守。You see this happening now.”

In light of the NMI standoff, this may be about to be tested.

访问革命

开放访问将传统的期刊出版业务模型置于其头上。通常，订阅者支付了阅读期刊的费用，因此作者无需支付任何发表工作的费用。非订阅者仍然可以访问该材料，但前提是他们为要阅读的文章付费。

With the newer model, authors are the ones who pay — either through their own pocket or via their institutions — and the published papers are freely available to anyone. This means their work can reach the widest audience possible. And this, ideally, means it has the best chance of stimulating understanding and innovation.

The open access publishing model has existed since the 1990s, but began in earnest in 2002 following theBudapest Open Access Initiative，这是在互联网上免费提供的所有学术领域的研究文章的国际努力。

运动一直稳步增长。现在，许多机构和资助者，例如Bill和Melinda Gates Foundation和Welcome Trust，都要求他们提供资助的研究。According to the DOAJ, the number of open-access peer-reviewed journals has increased by 17 per cent in the last year alone.

Usage of the DOAJ website has increased by over 100 per cent in that same year. Science, technology and mathematics journals have been growing their open-access presence most, particularly medical journals and articles. And of the 120 million documents in the academic journal search engine BASE, approximately 60 per cent are now open access.

Some of the biggest names in publishing, including Elsevier in New York, United States, and Springer Nature in Germany, are investing heavily in new open access journals, while also acquiring existing ones based in other parts of the world.

但是，正如最新的自然出版集团争议所表明的那样，基于订阅的旧模型不会消失。

Seeking viable options

Thomas Dietterich, a professor at Oregon State University and past president of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence, has gone so far as to createa petitioncalling for a boycott of the journal, which is set to be launched next year. At the time this article was published, the petition has garnered nearly 3,300 signatures from around the world.

Dietterich告诉scidev.net。“We also want to discourage other publishers from creating fee-based journals in artificial intelligence and machine learning.”

施普林格大自然发言人告诉scidev.netthat NMI involves substantial editorial development, offers high levels of author service and publishes informative, accessible content beyond primary research — all of which requires considerable investment.

“目前，我们认为，生产像这样的高度选择性期刊的最公平的方式，并确保其长期可持续性作为最广泛的社区的资源，是将这些成本传播到许多读者中 - 而不是由他们承担的读者发言人补充说。

这只是开放访问出版模型的问题之一：文章处理费用（APC）或有时向作者收取出版费以使他们的工作自由获得的工作将成倍增长，以保持利润率高，股东很满意，股东满意，warns DOAJ’s Olijhoek.

他说，如果出版物很大并且值得注意，这很有可能。这是因为科学家，包括来自发展中国家的人，仍然希望与大出版商相关的地位，认为他们的期刊值得巨大的价格标签，因为它们具有很高的影响因素。

For instance,自然通讯指控up to5200美元/纸,那个ding local taxes, compared with the average APC, which Olijhoek pegs at roughly US$800.

国际科学，技术与数学协会（STM）出版商的传播总监Matt McKay警告说，开放访问将始终使出版商更加付出更多的代价，尤其是Gold Open Access，这是文章的最终发布版本的最终版本。接受后尽快向公众使用。他补充说，这是“抵消目前通过订阅出版所支付的成本”。

But, Olijhoek argues that open access doesn’t have to be so costly. “65 per cent of the journals in DOAJ have no APC, so the business model of funders or foundations paying for publishing is a viable option, especially in the Global South,” he says.