We are delighted to announce that Durham University Library and Collections has joined the Open Journals Collective. Durham is supporting our multidisciplinary collection at the bronze tier, and we are very grateful to them for their commitment. The OJC is dedicated to transforming the way that academic research is supported and disseminated, and the support of Durham will be instrumental in helping us achieve our objectives of making journals free to read and publish in, offering a viable alternative to commercial transformative agreements, and empowering journals to flip to diamond open access.
Neil Davies, Senior Manager: Content Acquisitions at Durham University Library and Collections, said: “We are very happy to be able to support the Open Journals Collective. The continuing reluctance in the recent deal renewals of the big commercial publishers to move towards genuinely Open Access business models makes initiatives like this all the more important. Durham University already supports several other Open Access initiatives and is delighted to add this one to our ‘portfolio’”.
Tom Shaw, the Open Journals Collective’s Library Engagement Lead, said: “I’m delighted that Durham have joined the Open Journals Collective. As a former librarian, I worked closely with Durham through the N8 network on rights retention for research publications, and have seen their commitment to full and immediate open access. As a new, community-driven organisation we are dependent on early adopters such as Durham to enable us to grow, to provide sustainable funding for diamond open access publishing, and to start building the global alternative to commercial big deals that the world of scholarly publishing needs”.
Professor Caroline Edwards, Executive Director of the Open Journals Collective, said: “It’s fantastic to be joined by colleagues at Durham University Library. As one of the N8 libraries, Durham is at the forefront of UK library advocacy to effect meaningful transition away from a broken commercial model that uses open access models to accelerate profit growth. We’re grateful to Durham University Library for placing their trust in OJC and look forward to a productive collaboration.”