2019 Charleston Library Conference

The movement to transform scholarly communications has gained urgency and momentum following the introduction of Plan S. Transformative agreements are expanding in the US market, while the latest generation of open agreements in Europe is gaining wider acceptance as the way forward worldwide. This new publishing and licensing environment gives rise to unique pressures and opportunities for self-publishing societies as well as research libraries. For scholarly societies, a transition from the long-stable subscription model to open models presents an opportunity to expand the reach of their members’ research, but it also introduces potentially existential financial risks. For libraries, the transition from subscriptions to open models requires a careful weighing of options and strategic reinvestment that preserves essential access while avoiding unintended consequences. This panel presentation will explore how two self-publishing societies and two research libraries are adapting and approaching the accelerating transformation of scholarly publishing. Could “Read, Publish, & Join” be the next collaborative experiment? This session explores ideas like this and others where we can find common cause and work together to ensure a diverse scholarly publishing future where research is shared openly and self-publishing societies, researchers, and libraries can thrive.