Press releases
3 August 2004
BioMed Central to consult funders and librarians over Open Access payment model
BioMed Central, the Open Access publisher, announced today that it is to consult with librarians and funding bodies about future mechanisms for funding Open Access publishing. The consultation workshop will take place in London on 31 August. The conclusions of the meeting will be published in September.
The workshop will focus on four key discussion points:
- Payment model for Open Access: membership / article-processing charges
- Payment mechanisms for Open Access; differences and similarities with subscriptions
- Role of the library and the funding body in the Open Access world
- Collaboration between institutions/librarians and funding bodies: can mechanisms be found to channel funding streams via the institution/library to pay for Open Access?
Head of Marketing and Sales Natasha Robshaw explains why the consultation has been organized, and what BioMed Central hope to gain from the day:
"In this new environment of Open Access publishing our business model is still evolving. At BioMed Central we believe we need the advice and involvement of the community to help us with important issues such as payment models to ensure the continued success of Open Access publishing. We hope that this consultation will allow us to explore how to channel funds to pay for Open Access publishing in the future - in a way that truly fits the needs of the community."
Sixteen invited representatives of the library and funding communities have accepted BioMed Central's invitation to the one-day meeting. They include:
| Michael Leach | Harvard University, USA |
| Nicole Pinhas | INSERM, France |
| Stéphanie Lux | INSERM, France |
| Antonio Fantoni | La Sapienza , Italy |
| Ann Okerson | Yale University, USA |
| Norbert Lossau | Bielefeld University, Germany |
| Mary Ryan | University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, USA |
| Fytton Rowland | Loughborough University, UK |
| Ingegerd Rabow | Lund University, Sweden |
| Linda Watson | University of Virginia, USA |
| Peter Morgan | Cambridge University, UK |
| Robert Terry | Wellcome Trust, UK |
| Heather Weaver | Council for the Central Laboratory of the Research Councils (CCLRC), UK |
| Stephane Goldstein | Research Councils United Kingdom |
| Joan Leishman | University of Toronto, Canada |
| |
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Press Office Contacts:
Grace Baynes for BioMed Central
Telephone: +44 (0)20 7631 9988
E-mail: press@biomedcentral.com
About BioMed Central
BioMed Central (www.biomedcentral.com/)
is an independent online publishing house committed to providing
immediate access without charge to the peer-reviewed biological and
medical research it publishes. This commitment is based on the view
that open access to research is essential to the rapid and efficient
communication of science. In addition to open-access original research,
BioMed Central also publishes reviews and other subscription-based
content.
BioMed Central's business model is based on charging authors to publish, and then making the content free to readers. Under membership agreements, authors from member institutions will not be asked to pay an article processing charge when publishing research. The charge is instead covered by the institution's BioMed Central membership. This applies to all of BioMed Central's journals 100+ peer-reviewed journals. Upon acceptance, the article becomes available online without charge to readers worldwide.
BioMed Central's Institutional Membership Program was launched in January 2002 and now has well over 400 members, including some of the world's most prestigious academic institutions.
