Session 3 – Economy
Making open access beneficial for publishers
The session "Open access, scientific and economic stakes" will meet the advocates and critics of open access. In 2006, a study conducted for the European commission showed that the scientific journal publishing industry did not adopt a particularly competitive approach. It was putting a large number of university libraries in a difficult position by setting very inflexible subscription conditions with prices that were probably too high.
"The scientific journal publishing industry […] was putting a large number of university libraries in a difficult position"
Several alternative models to these subscriptions have been proposed, including an open access journal model. These journals are financed by the authors that publish in them and are free for readers to access. These session participants will endeavour to examine to what extent the interests of researchers and the financial interests of major scientific publishers can be reconciled.