Speakers
Description
In the past, centralised library budgets were used to ensure the best possible information supply through purchasing and licensing. However, due to the monopoly structures that have developed over time, this 'information budget 1.0' has reached its limits.
The aim of Open Access is to re-establish an adequate supply of information for the needs of science and scholarship.
However, in order to guarantee Open Access, publishing is often made subject to charges, especially with the current focus on APC-based models and hybrid Open Access covered by so-called transformation contracts.
At first glance, this appears to lead merely to a shift in financial flows. At the same time, however, there is often a redistribution of costs within institutions, as publication funds, for example, can no longer fully cover the costs. The 'information budget 2.0' is therefore often distributed and virtual, which makes monitoring more difficult. Currently, libraries focus mainly to handle that.
On the other hand, this development is also an opportunity for libraries to improve their services to the research community. There is no doubt that the necessary invoice processing and contract management are in good hands. However, when the entire publication process is taken into account, including the different roles of publications in scholarly communication, there are synergies that go far beyond monitoring, to the benefit of all.
