Abstract

This text explores opportunities for research libraries in the current context of transition to a gold open access model. First, political and organizational considerations are discussed, drawing directly from proposals presented at the recent Berlin 12 Open Access Conference and the unavoidable disagreements in the international open access community about the implementation of this large-scale open access model. Second, we discuss some of the areas where further work is required in order to support the transition to gold open access. Based on the experience implementing the EC/OpenAIRE FP7 Post-Grant Open Access Pilot, three specific areas are described where research libraries need to focus their attention: familiarization with research projects that are being done at their institution, participation in a joint effort to tackle predatory publishing, and intervention in the academic publishing cycle at an earlier stage.

Abstract

The proposal made in September 2018 by cOAlition S to progress towards full immediate open access (OA) by signing transformative agreements with publishers was received with understandable skepticism by some relevant actors in countries with lower OA implementation and lower economic resources to address this transition. This text argues that these so-called transformative agreements are bound to be most efficient where green OA is already consolidated and explores the viability of the new Rights Retention Strategy as a corollary of such a strategy.