Last month, Australian and New Zealand universities signed one of the largest transformative open access deals with Elsevier, a global leader in research publishing and information analytics. The agreement was taken forward by the Council of Australian University Librarians (CAUL) – the negotiating body representing universities in Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) – to provide the world with immediate open access to ANZ research and ensure ANZ readers continue to have access to global research.1
The three-year agreement takes effect in January, 2023 and covers 60% of the Australasian research articles expected to be published by Elsevier in 2023.2 The agreement is garnering limelight as it is being seen as a step forward in allowing Australasian researchers, who are accepted for publication in Elsevier journals to make their articles available via open access. This means they wouldn’t have to incur any extra article processing charges as long as they work for universities that subscribe to the journals.2
As per Robert Gerrity, Board Director of CAUL and University Librarian at Monash University, “This agreement with Elsevier [is] a vital step in providing greater value to researchers in Australia and New Zealand through the inclusion of open access publishing. While this agreement provides opportunities for authors to share research more widely, we will continue to work with Elsevier to evolve this agreement to meet the needs of individual universities and their different research profiles. This agreement is an important first step in that journey.”1
In 2021, Elsevier reported a more than 46% year-on-year increase in publishing gold or pay to publish open access articles. And with nearly all of its 2,800 allowing open access, including 600 completely open access journals, Elsevier is one of the fastest growing open access publishers across the globe. The publisher currently has transformative agreements that supports more than 2,000 institutions to publish open access journals.
Speaking about the ANZ partnership, Gemma Hersh, SVP of Global Academic & Government Sales, Elsevier, said: “We are delighted to continue building on our long-standing relationship with CAUL with an agreement that supports the priorities of the ANZ research community to transition to open access. We are grateful to CAUL for their partnership and pragmatism in reaching what is now the largest transformative agreement across Australasia and we look forward to continuing our partnership with ANZ institutions.”
Did you know?
In 2019, a consortium of more than 700 German research institutions and libraries had announced a similar agreement (open access deal) with publisher Springer Nature to make it simpler for authors to publish their papers as open access. The agreement was intended to make thousands of German-authored papers available free worldwide every year!
Open access deals are made with the purpose of promoting free, rapid and unlimited access to research. They lead to rapid, unlimited dissemination of often vital new research, which can lead to faster breakthroughs, paving the way for innovation. The ANZ-Elsevier open access deal is an important step toward maximizing the impact of research coming out of Australia and New Zealand and opens the doors for other such open access deals in the future.
References
1.Elsevier. Elsevier and Council of Australian University Librarians sign agreement to support transition to open access publishing alongside continued research access for Australia and New Zealand researchers. Elsevier https://www.elsevier.com/about/press-releases/corporate/elsevier-and-council-of-australian-university-librarians-sign-agreement-to-support-transition-to-open-access-publishing-alongside-continued-research-access-for-australia-and-new-zealand-researchers
2,3. John Ross. Australia and New Zealand strike open access deal with Elsevier. Times Higher Education https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/australia-and-new-zealand-strike-open-access-deal-elsevier
