The University of California’s contract with for-profit journal giant Elsevier is out, but system-staff have agreed access to month’s end while the two-side try to do a deal. “UC is seeking to constrain the excessive costs of journal subscriptions and to make it easier and more affordable for UC authors to publish their research open access,” UC-Berkeley executive VC Paul Alivisatos told staff at Christmas.

Whether this washes with U Cal academics who want to publish in top-rated Elsevier journals, the European experience is that university managements are willing to take the publisher on. German universities have not agreed on terms with Elsevier and Swedish university and research libraries cancelled on the company last June. Their peak body now has a survey asking library users how they are getting on with restricted access to Elsevier, and how they going with alternative ways of sourcing content.