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<DIV>The “Statement on position in relation to open access” issued by the
Editors of twenty-one important history journals is a very significant
development and has not received the discussion it deserves (see </DIV>
<DIV><A
href="http://www.history.ac.uk/news/2012-12-10/statement-position-relation-open-access">http://www.history.ac.uk/news/2012-12-10/statement-position-relation-open-access</A>
). In particular the Statement contains the following decision in relation to
“green” open access when the author does not pay an APC: “<FONT
color=#181818>The period of embargo we will offer will be 36 MONTHS. We think
this is the shortest possible period that would still protect our viability as
subscription-funded organisations, which have to pay for copyediting and the
management of peer review, and is fully consistent with the need to make
research publicly available.” Given the importance of the journals listed in the
Statement this decision will have a major impact not only upon the academic
history community world-wide but also upon the substantial readership of history
journals outside academia.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#181818>Although the Statement comes from the Editors it has to
be assumed that the decision to raise the embargo period to 36 months is made
with the blessing of the journals’ proprietors. Many of the journals on the list
are owned by publishers with embargo periods shorter than 36 months, even for
humanities journals, so the question needs to be asked: is this Statement the
precursor for a general increase in the length of embargo periods? One of the
predictions made by critics of new open access policies in the UK is that
publishers will exploit the weaknesses in the Finch Report, increase embargo
periods and stunt the growth in open access repository content. </FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT color=#181818>The rationale given by the Editors of the History
journals for the increase in the embargo period also needs to be challenged.
Where is their evidence that their subscription base will be harmed by short
embargo periods? Can they name any journal in any subject field that has ceased
publication because of the deposit of content in open access repositories?
Repository content on open access is now at a sufficiently high level that even
a minor impact upon subscriptions would have been noticed by now. The only
reason for cancellation for which there is any evidence is when unjustified
increases in subscription rates have occurred. I have heard it said that the
longer usage half-life of humanities journals puts them at greater risk over a
longer period, but a longer half-life does not cause librarians to cancel
subscriptions; if anything it reinforces the long-term value of a
journal.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT color=#181818>The Statement also misses an opportunity to embrace the
value of both green and gold open access to those who read the history journals
and consequently the value of open access to the history institutions and to the
journal publishers. It may happen that a large number of history authors are
able to fund an APC but the present signs are not hopeful. A longer green
embargo period will certainly reduce usage of the journal content over time, and
there is no evidence that the reduction in open access usage will be made up
through increased sales of subscriptions or single articles. The emphasis should
surely be upon using open access to increase the readership of the history
journals. Without a high readership the future of not only the journals but also
of the history research institutions could be put at risk in a climate of
reduced public funding. It is in this broad context that I find the History
journal Editors’ Statement so disappointing.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#181818></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#181818><FONT color=#000000>Fred Friend</FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#181818><FONT color=#000000>Honorary Director Scholarly
Communication UCL</FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#181818><FONT color=#000000><A
href="http://www.friendofopenaccess.org.uk">http://www.friendofopenaccess.org.uk</A>
</FONT> </FONT></DIV>
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