Open Access

OA 18

Written evidence submitted by The Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry Society

Executive Summary

1. Government policy on open access should take into account the following.

1.1. There should be far greater consultation with learned societies, recognising that open access will be a major influential factor on the future of such societies.

1.2. Greater account should be taken of the international context within which UK research publications reside.

1.3. The importance of the Green Route to open access and the need for longer embargo periods for many disciplines needs to be recognised.

1.4. The effect of APCs on the income of learned societies, especially in the context of hybrid journals, should be carefully evaluated.

1.5. A strategy accepting that hybrid journals will be a reality for many subject areas and learned societies should be developed.

Introduction

2. The Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry Society (RSPSoc) is a registered charity (No. 292647) and is the UK’s leading learned society for the disciplines of remote sensing and photogrammetry. Its main role is in the promotion and development of remote sensing and photogrammetry in the context of education, science, research, industry and commerce. Dissemination of scientific research plays a crucial role in these activities and the Society produces three ISI-ranked, peer-reviewed publications: International Journal of Remote Sensing and Remote Sensing Letters, both published by Taylor and Francis; and The Photogrammetric Record, co-published with Wiley-Blackwell.

3. The Society has very real concerns as to how the uptake of open access (and particularly the Gold model) will affect the RSPSoc’s ability to effectively communicate high-quality research, and the impact open access will have on society activities and revenues. The RSPSoc’s journal revenues provide funding and support for many of the Society’s charitable activities. Currently, 60 % of the Society’s income comes from journal royalties, with the remainder derived from membership subscriptions and meeting revenues. This financial structure is likely to be similar amongst other learned societies. Membership of the Society confers free or discounted subscription to these journals and thus forms a major part of an individual’s incentive to join. Open access publishing will have a major impact on the financial models and sustainability of learned societies, and the RSPSoc has a keen interest in its immediate and longer-term impact.

4. The RSPSoc recognises the benefits that open access to research publications can bring to individuals, organisations and companies who currently have to pay a subscription or individual article fee to access such papers. However, the implications for the many learned societies that support such publications do not seem to have been adequately thought through.

Lack of consultation with learned societies

5. The RSPSoc strongly feels that the role of UK learned societies in publishing research findings, and the importance of such activities to these societies, their finances and their membership base, has not been fully considered in implementing government’s open access policy. The Finch working group on open access included members from the Society of Biology and the Royal Geographical Society; its report (Accessibility, sustainability, excellence: how to expand access to research publications) therefore contains some perspectives from learned societies. Page 15 of the Finch report states:

‘The UK’s prominent position derives in part from its long tradition of publishing by learned societies, and more recently the development of close relationships between them and other publishers. ... They make a significant contribution to the British economy, to export earnings, and (not least through the surpluses used by learned societies to fund their scholarly activities) to the performance and standing of the UK research community.’

The Finch report also notes (page 65):

‘Publishing and communicating the results of research are core to the missions of most learned societies, and they publish journals to meet the goal of disseminating high-quality research as widely as possible. Many of the journals published by UK learned societies are among the leading journals in their fields.’

These observations are certainly the case with RSPSoc and the Society would expect full consultation on such an important aspect of its core activities. This has not been evident to date and we would request that such a dialogue be commenced without delay.

International context

6. Many UK journals contain a high proportion of papers from non-UK authors, the very international nature of the content contributing to a journal’s success. For instance, over 90% of the papers currently published in The Photogrammetric Record report research from authors working outside the UK. Whilst this will mean that such authors will not have to commit to open access of their papers as with UK authors, the impact upon such journals as a whole, and their sponsoring societies, needs to be carefully considered.

7. At the two-day conference on Implementing Finch (Academy of Social Sciences, 29-30 November 2012) Felice Levine (American Educational Research Association) made it clear that in the United States, open access will develop along different lines to that reported in the Finch report. She noted that the subscription model is very strong in the US and concern with open access focuses on providing a sound financial model for learned societies. The success of US open-access sites such as Cornell University’s arXiv.org may have transformed the literature of physics but this does not mean it would readily transfer to other disciplines. A similar concern on this side of the Atlantic from the UK government would be appreciated and again points to much greater dialogue with such societies being urgently required.

8. The shift from a subscription-based publishing model to open access has not been attempted nationally in any other country. Such a monumental change therefore deserves the fullest consultation with all stakeholders, including learned societies both large and small as well as with our international counterparts. Otherwise the UK risks international derision if such far-reaching changes  are not undertaken with the widest consultation and agreement.

STM licensing and embargo periods

9. It is clear that core science, technology and medicine (STM) are driving the open access agenda. This makes it vitally important that the views of other areas of science and technology such as remote sensing and photogrammetry, as well as other non-STM disciplines, are clearly heard. The focus on Gold Access, CC-BY licensing and 6-month embargo periods may be suitable for many branches of physics and medicine but are not appropriate for ‘slow burn’ disciplines such as remote sensing and photogrammetry where Green Access and 12 to 24 month embargo periods may be essential. A ‘one size fits all’ policy is not appropriate and steam-rollering by the science and medical giants, together with RCUK, should not be permitted to blind government to the difficulties for smaller societies.

10. The enforced uptake of CC-BY licensing (e.g. RCUK, Wellcome Trust funded research) through the Gold Access route, and even CC-BY-NC through the Green route, raises concerns for many authors and, by extension, societies such as the RSPSoc who represent the interests of our members. These new forms of licensing represent a major departure from many existing licensing approaches, and the impact of these have not been fully explored. Moreover, these licences, and particularly CC-BY, are not necessarily appropriate for all fields. Many authors are concerned over the ease with which the non-paying readership (including academics and commercial organisations) will be able to re-work original material, without the author’s permission, and potentially exploit this commercially. There are questions over how effectively these licences can be enforced in the international arena in order to avoid detrimental impact on UK researchers and their intellectual property.

APCs and hybrid journals

11. Many subject areas, including remote sensing and photogrammetry, are not of sufficient size to warrant separate open access and subscription journals. A hybrid model, where a journal accepts open access papers together with traditional subscription-funded papers, is therefore inevitable. In such a situation the article processing charge (APC) will be critical, as will the commensurate reduction in subscription fees expected by members. While the Society and its publishers will, of course, be totally compliant with government open access policy, dialogue is again essential if learned societies are not to be disadvantaged (or, indeed, their futures threatened) by APCs and the hybridisation of their journals.

Conclusions and recommendations for action

12. The primary request from the RSPSoc, which permeates this submission, is improved dialogue between government and learned societies in the implementation of open access policy. It will have a profound effect on numerous organisations such as ours which contribute enormously to disseminating developments in research and whose members voluntarily devote inordinate amounts of time and effort to its activities. In its submission to the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee Inquiry into Open Access, the Publishers Association stated: ‘The RCUK has acted unilaterally and in isolation. Successful implementation of Government Policy will require close collaboration between all stakeholders.’ Learned societies are leading stakeholders and RSPSoc believes that such collaboration is vital for the health of all future UK research.

13. Learned societies are different to commercial publishers as they go beyond purely financial models; they seek to maximise impact, not income. The Finch report acknowledges the importance of maintaining a high-quality, sustainable publishing system that disseminates quality-assured research findings, and provides high standards of service to both authors and readers. The effect of APCs and hybrid journals on societies needs to be discussed in depth between all interested parties.

14. The international nature of many UK journals should be fully recognised and the international context of UK journal publishing needs to become central to the implementation of open access. As the Finch report notes, there are limits to what can be achieved in the UK alone, and international cooperation on this issue is vital.

15. The importance of the Green open access route with longer (12 to 24 month) embargo periods needs full discussion in the context of all research disciplines. The Gold route may be appropriate to STM disciplines, but this does not necessarily apply to other subject areas.

16. The impact of Gold Access enforced CC-BY licensing needs to be more fully explored and more flexible licensing approaches, better suited to the needs of individual disciplines, should be considered for both Gold and Green Access routes.

17. The achievability of real and effective increases in access to publications is supported by RSPSoc. The future of learned societies such as RSPSoc and their publications, whose reputations have been painstakingly developed over decades, should not be sacrificed by implementing measures that have not been fully debated. The dangers of unintended consequences are very real.

6 February 2013