On December 8 and 9, 2015, representatives from several regions (Asia, Europe, and
North America) met in Berlin, Germany, to discuss a proposal to flip subscription-based journals to open access models. The initiative is being led by the Max Planck Society, the organizer and host of the invitation-only Berlin 12 Open Access Conference. The rationale for the initiative is based on an analysis undertaken by Max Planck Digital Library (MPDL), which found that a flip to open access would be possible at no financial risk, “maybe even at lower overall costs”1 to the system. More information about the analysis is available in the MPDL white paper, Disrupting the Subscription Journals’ Business Model for the Necessary Large-Scale Transformation to Open Access.
The objective of the conference was to build a consensus for an internationally coordinated effort to shift libraries’ journal budgets away from subscriptions and towards article processing costs (APCs). The meeting was attended by 96...
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