Show notes
Social Media and Important Links
UVic Libraries Support for Open Access Publishing (formerly Author Funding) (external link)
Scholarly Communications @ UVic Blog (external link)
Twitter (X) (external link)
Timestamps
0:01 Introduction
1:21 Defining Library Support for Open Access Publication (SOAP)
2:10 What is Open Access?
3:46 Different types of journals to publish under
4:26 What is an Article Processing Charge (APC)
4:42 How to not pay an APC
6:52 Benefits of OA publishing
8:18 Where to go to find more information
Transcript
Madison 0:00
Join us at the table for the first serving of Scholarly Soundbytes a podcast concocted by the minds from the copyright and Scholarly Communications Office at UVic Libraries in every episode we’ll serve you generous portions of enlightening and practical scholarly insights byte by byte.
My name is Madison, and I am joined in the studio by my lovely colleague, Kristen. Today’s special, a succinct breakdown of library support for open access publishing or SOAP all in under seven minutes.
Kristen 0:39
That’s right. If you are a researcher looking to publish a paper under open access, one of the things you should be aware of is soap through UVic Libraries. Publishing your work, open access doesn’t have to cost you money.
Madison 0:51
But let’s break it down even further. What does library support for open access publishing mean? Who benefits from this initiative? And what is the benefit of making your articles open access immediately upon publication?
Kristen 1:03
Absolutely. By the end of this episode, you will have a better understanding of SOAP, and you’ll feel ready to take the next step in your open access publishing journey. So, let’s set the timer for seven minutes and get down to business.
Kristen 1:21
Library Support for Open Access Publication or SOAP is a term we use to refer to the licensing agreements that UVic Libraries holds with different academic publishers. This includes open access publishing agreements and discounts. These agreements have been negotiated by the UVic Libraries with publishers with the aim of reducing or eliminating APCs associated with the publication of scholarly articles.
Madison 1:48
Yeah, that’s right, Kristen. But if none of that made any sense to you listening, don’t worry, we’re gonna break down all of the important terms into smaller bite sized pieces of knowledge for you. For us to first understand what licensing agreements and SOAP are, I think we need to understand why we would use them. Authors looking to publish under open access utilize licensing agreements to help pay for the cost of publishing open.
Kristen 2:10
But what is open access? You are writing a paper; you have been searching through database after database looking for something that is concrete that will back up your claims and inform your argument even more. You finally find the perfect paper. The abstract makes sense, and you want to read more. But there is a paywall.
Madison 2:38
So open access, or OA, is a model of publishing that makes research available to readers at no cost. So, in the instance that you’re talking about, Kristen, if that article had been published open access, you wouldn’t have run into that paywall. And it’s that paywall that stopping people from gaining access to information that’s actually really valuable. Publishers often offer OA in several different formats, but they do sometimes refer to them in slightly different terms. However, one of the most common terms for being full open access is called gold open access. And when a publisher uses the term gold open access, it usually means that the article is immediately free and accessible on the publishers platform. So again, in your instance, if this person had published their article, gold OA or gold open access, you would have had access to it immediately. And you wouldn’t have had to pay $25 for a single paper. So Kristen, I’ve seen that some journals also have green open access is that different from gold?
Kristen 3:33
You’re right about that Madison, researchers also have the option to publish under green open access, which means that they will publish a copy of their manuscript on an institutional repository, just like UVicSpace.
Madison 3:45
Oh, no way!
Kristen 3:46
When deciding whether to publish under open access. It’s important to note that some publishers have already committed to publishing either fully open access journals, which means that you will have to opt into some form of open access publishing, or hybrid journals,
Madison 4:00
Hybrid journals? What’s a hybrid journal?
Kristen 4:03
Publishing in a hybrid journal means that authors are given the choice to publish under either gold open access or a subscription-based model. If the author chooses to publish under gold open access, no matter what type of journal they are publishing in, it usually means that they will have to pay a fee or in article processing charge.
Madison 4:22
Oh, I actually know what an article processing charge is!
Kristen 4:26
Madison, tell me, what is in article processing charge?
Madison 4:29
So, an article processing charge or an APC… Is anyone else sick of us saying that? Are the fees paid instead of what a subscription would have been, if that makes sense? So, paying the fee is what helps make the article open access publication.
Kristen 4:42
Awe, paying a fee to make something open sucks! Is there any way that researchers would not have to pay that fee?
Madison 4:50
You know, it’s funny that you mentioned that, Kristen! Paying the fee might not be necessary to publish under Open Access thanks to SOAP and the fantastic licensing agreements that we have through UVic libraries.
Kristen 5:03
Okay, so from what I can understand UVic libraries supports authors publishing under open access through holding different licensing agreements.
Madison 5:14
Yeah, exactly. So, these licensing agreements are contracts between the UVic libraries and publishers that heavily discount article processing charges, essentially providing free money. Like I know, we currently, as of June 2024, have anything from like 15% APC discount to completely free. These agreements are revolutionizing scholarly publishing by transitioning from the older model where institutions often paid a fixed fee for access to all articles, to this new arrangement. And on top of that institutions are also allocating funds specifically for open access publishing, that’s just how important it is. Now, this allows researchers to publish their work openly without any extra charges and also comply with funding mandates. If you’re considering publishing under open access, it would be wise to explore the offers available through SOAP!
Kristen 6:06
How can UVic authors specifically access these discounts that you speak of?
Madison 6:11
So, the libraries have done something very cool, and we’ve created almost like a little poster where you’re able to see the licensing agreements with all of the scholarly publishers that we have them with. You can access these through the UVic Libraries website, and what requirements there are for UVic authors to be able to access them. Authors that are outside of UVic should check with their own university librarians to see if they offer similar discounts, because this is pretty common with most academic libraries.
Kristen 6:41
Hold on, hold on, what if an author wanted to skip this headache and just continue to publish under a subscription-based model? What would the benefits even be of publishing under open access?
Madison 6:52
Well, ultimately, it is their choice. However, there are many recorded benefits to publishing immediately open and accessible articles. For one publishing under Open Access enables your research to be read and cited by a larger global audience, which then can allow for your research to be utilized for other purposes like policies more readily.
Kristen 7:12
It also enables people to access your work barrier free, which means that people who would otherwise not be able to read your work because they don’t want to pay for a subscription may interact with your scholarship. And to reiterate what you said Madison, most grants nowadays and other funding now require authors to publish under some form of open access. So, choosing to publish under open access would be complying with funder mandates.
Madison 7:37
So, Kristen, if let’s say I’m an author, and I just am like, “No, I’m not sold on this.” What’s happening if I go without it?
Kristen 7:47
Well, Madison, if you were to go without it, you would be leaving money on the table. These agreements are here to help authors publish under open access. And so, skipping this step would just mean money out of your pocket.
Madison 7:57
And aren’t APCs like, super expensive too?
Kristen 8:00
Oh, they are very expensive. Okay, so now that all of our listeners are convinced for SOAP and open access publishing, where should they go if they want to learn more about library support for open access publishing?
Madison 8:18
Well, you can check out the author funding page under the scholarly communication section of the UVic libraries website. That page will be linked in our show notes along with our blog and all sources for this episode.
Kristen 8:37
Thank you for joining us at the table for the first serving of Scholarly Soundbytes, we hope that you were able to devour our explanation of Library Support for Open Access Publication or SOAP in under seven minutes.
Madison 8:49
For more information on SOAP feel free to visit our website, email us at scholcom@uvic.ca or contact your subject librarian.
Kristen 8:57
Also remember to follow us on Twitter for more UVic Scholarly Communications updates @uvicscholcom or you can visit our blog Scholarly Communications @ UVic blog for the most up to date information. These will all be linked in the show notes.
And a 1, a 2, a 1234
Madison and Kristen 9:28
Scholarly insights byte by byte
Sources:
Dutch National website. (n.d.). What is open access? openaccess.nl. https://www.openaccess.nl/en/what-is-open-access
ESAC initiative. ESAC Initiative. (n.d.). https://esac-initiative.org/about/transformative-agreements/
IOP Science. (n.d.). What is a hybrid open access journal? – iopscience – publishing support. IOPscience. https://publishingsupport.iopscience.iop.org/questions/what-is-a-hybrid-open-access-journal/
Libguides: Open access: Article processing charges. Article Processing Charges – Open Access – LibGuides at University of Nevada, Las Vegas. (2024, July). https://guides.library.unlv.edu/c.php?g=901395&p=6486147
Springer Nature. (n.d.). Green or gold routes to open access. Green or Gold routes to OA | Open research | Springer Nature. https://www.springernature.com/gp/open-research/about/green-or-gold-routes-to-oa#:~:text=There%20are%20two%20main%20routes,described%20as%20green%20open%20access
Taylor and Francis. (2023, October 30). Benefits of open access publishing. Author Services. https://authorservices.taylorandfrancis.com/choose-open/publishing-open-access/oa-benefits/
Music from: Music_for_videos on pixabay – “Big Band TV show logo”
Sound effect: comical bite and chew by watsnick — https://freesound.org/s/423479/— License: Attribution 4.0
