UK unis and journal giant no speaks

Australian universities will have improved access on free to read and pay to publish research, due to deals done with a range of publishers – none of which, so far, is Elsevier

The Council of Australian University Librarians has announced three deals with publishers in a month, with one said still to come (CMM October 5, 21 and 26).

If it turns out to be the alpha for-profit research publisher Elsevier there will be international interest in the terms, because Elsevier bargains hard.

Negotiations on a new subscription/article publishing deal between the company and UK universities stopped last week.

Universities UK and digital support provider JISC rejected Elsevier’s proposal, which they state does not meet member needs for subscription and publishing costs, “in line with other agreements and in line with funder policies and sector requirements.” This year universities will spend just under £50m (A$91m) with the company.

This does not mean there will not be a deal. Talks started and stopped between the company and the University of California across years before a deal was done (CMM March 18). But not right now.