Open Access Funds: A Canadian Library Survey

Abstract

A survey of Canadian research libraries was conducted to determine the extent of funding support for open access publications in these institutions. Results indicate that there is substantial support for open access publishing, and a diversity of approaches is being used to fund open access resources. Twelve of eighteen respondents indicate that their libraries have dedicated open access funds with nine institutions covering author fees. The reasons for funding support along with policy and promotional issues are explored. The broader implications of funding open access are discussed in the context of a changing scholarly publishing landscape. This paper will be especially relevant to Canadian academic libraries that are exploring options for funding open access publications.

Open Sesame? Open access priorities, incentives, and policies among higher education institutions in the United Arab Emirates

“…Mischo and Schlembach (2011) have also reported concerns over APCs with regards to "cost to authors, …and journals expanding article acceptances to make money". Moreover, APC payments fall mostly on authors or their funders and the majority of the few institutions covering APCs use existing library budgets rather than additional allocated funds (Bauer et al 2013;Lara 2014;Fernandez and Nariani 2011).…”

Open access central funds in UK universities

“…It indicates that a larger number of institutions than have central funds are supporting OA publication in other various ways, something also indicated in a recent survey of Canadian libraries. 2 Of those UK respondents without a cen- 13% of the responding institutions (7 out of 52) stated that they had 'an institutionally co-ordinated approach to payment of per-article OA fees tral fund, 10% said that it was 'likely' that one would be created in the next 12 months. There were varying degrees of certainty in the responses to this question.…”

The “total cost of publication” in a hybrid open‐access environment: Institutional approaches to funding journal article‐processing charges in combination with subscriptions

“…Many universities have responded to this by coordinating the payments of APCs across the institution. Typically, this involves the library or research support office managing a “central fund” for APC payments to which authors can apply (Eckman & Weil, ; Fernandez & Nariani, ; Nariani & Fernandez, ; Pinfield, ; Pinfield & Middleton, ). Though such an arrangement can make setting up prepayment schemes easier, it can, at the same time, create new administrative costs for the library or research office.…”