St Andrews evaluation templates for publisher agreements and open access initiatives

Abstract

Following the excellent example of the University of Salford at UKSG in 2019, we began using an evaluation template for publishers’ journal agreements. Using the template, evaluation is undertaken by a cross-Library group with representatives from Academic Liaison (collection development/subject knowledge); Acquisitions & E-resources (usage/costs); Open Research (publishing history/funder compliance/OA policies); and the Deputy Director (budget approvals/Library strategy).

This approach has been further developed to consider elements of a range of initiatives, including new publishing models such as Subscribe2Open, open infrastructures, collective action, and community frameworks which support OA. A new template has been designed to challenge our thinking and provide a clear analysis of how each model meets our underlying strategy. The detailed questions make sure we can identify the benefits, risks and costs involved.