Abstract

The current ease of online publishing has led to an excess of e-journals, all struggling to attract manuscripts and to survive, and most often without success. This fragile situation for journals means that when one of them does climb up in the quality rankings it is likely to be absorbed by a large foreign publisher. The article reflects on the academic world's dependence on international commercial databases, and questions the Spanish government's expenditure on subscriptions to them. Finally, a recent campaign conducted against Elsevier is described.

Abstract

In recent years, the UPF has implemented several initiatives to disseminate the scientific output of the university’s teaching and research personnel: UPF digital repository (e-Repositori), scientific output portal (PPC), and the provision of tools and recommendations to standardize an author’s name and affiliation, evaluate scholarly journals, improve the curriculum vitae, etc. The library’s role in these initiatives is discussed, along with the increasing importance of these activities within the scope of academic libraries.

Abstract

A set of parameters to analyze business models of scientific publishers, especially those that offer open access to their content for all or some of their journals, is presented and defined. A definition of the term “business model” that exceeds the old conceptual restriction tied to funding sources is given. This more complete view of the business model requires extending the analysis of funding sources to other economic and financial components as well as operational and strategic dimensions of the publisher. This allows a better and more authoritative interpretation and analysis of the various business models of scientific publishers.

Abstract

This paper analyzes the weaknesses of the Humanities and Social Sciences journal publishing sector in Spain. A high percentage of these journals are published by universities and often as a result of the effort of a small team (e.g., professional association, department, research group). They often have very low numbers of papers published per year, limited impact, and inefficient management, and may find it difficult to overcome a certain image of inbreeding. Against this dominant model, the authors propose the merger, co-publishing or restructuring of current journals to improve their management and achieve greater national and international recognition.

Abstract

A survey of 1,280 publishers of Spanish scientific journals (43% response rate; n=561) revealed their experiences with open access in scientific production. Quantitative analysis of the data showed that 72% (n=404) of respondents had experience with open access or were engaged in the conversion process. Of these, about 80% valued their experience in positive or very positive terms. Among the most common difficulties associated with the adoption of open access in their journals were the financial constraints and challenges related to organizational structure.

Abstract

Plan S promotes that all articles from research funded by public financing agencies that subscribe it, have to be publicly available immediately, either in open access journals or in repositories that meet certain conditions, as of January 2021. Plan S has been promoted by Science Europe, a group of public research funding agencies through the cOAlition S, and has published two versions that have generated intense academic debate worldwide. Even though no public or private research agency of Spain has been committed at the moment to support Plan S, it is interesting to assess how this Plan can affect the ecosystem of Spanish scientific journals. We present the results of the analysis of the Spanish journals of SCImago Journal Rank in Social Sciences and the compliance that they have with the requirements that cOAlition S has described for the journals to be considered of Open Access of quality. These requirements are related to the opening of the content, the payment model, technical aspects and copyright. It is concluded that although most journals meet the requirements related to open content, they are left with challenges related to the technical aspects of maximum interoperability and reuse. Journals are recommended to take the Plan S as an opportunity and take advantage to carry out a full digital transformation.