The Challenge of Open Access for University Presses

The Challenge of Open Access for University Presses (Tuesday, 2:45 to 4:00)
Sandy Thatcher, Director, Pennsylvania State University Press

University presses were founded in the late 19th century to help alleviate a problem of market failure, namely, insufficient demand in the commercial marketplace to sustain a publishing operation on the basis of sales alone. Now, in the face of another type of market failure –insufficient funds to sustain library subscriptions to STM journals — calls have come forth to change the economic model of publishing from sales-based to grants-based, offering the fruits of knowledge for free to all users with an Internet connection. This session will examine both the challenges and opportunities that the variants of ‘open access’ present to university presses, as they seek to fulfill their traditional mission of disseminating knowledge, far and wide, while remaining sustainable as businesses.

(Thanks to Christie Roysdon for the reminder!)