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Subscribe to Open
Subscribe to Open (S2O) is an economic model used by peer-reviewed scholarly journals to provide readers with open access (OA) to the journal’s content, without charging costs to authors. S2O converts journals that have a traditional subscription model to open access.
When the academic libraries subscribing to a journal are asked to renew their subscriptions to the journal, they are told that, with the libraries’ support, the journal will be made open access to all readers, while authors are able to publish in it at no cost. If enough libraries renew on these terms, the journal is converted to open access, and if not, access to the journal remains restricted to subscribing libraries.
The term “Open Access” (OA) was first coined in December 2001 in a call for greater access to academic journal articles, which were mainly available through subscriptions. Influential statements such as the Budapest Open Access Initiative (BOAI) in February 14, 2002, have called for improvement of the circulation of research through open access to scholarly journals. Since then, more than twenty financial models have been developed as alternatives to the traditional subscription model, beginning with authors paying article processing charges (APCs) to BioMed Central in 2002.
The Subscribe to Open model was first introduced in 2017 by the publisher Annual Reviews in consultation with Raym Crow and with a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. S2O was presented as “a practical approach for converting subscription journals to open access.”
The Subscribe to Open financial model for open access to peer-reviewed research is based on a mutual assurance contract. Mutual assurance contracts are used to create public goods by securing financial support for such goods. Under S2O, libraries help to create a public good that is universally open to both readers and authors, through subscriptions. “If all libraries continue to subscribe, then not only will those libraries have access to the content for their users, but [the journals] will also make the content openly available to non-subscribers.”
As with the traditional subscription model, S2O journal pricing and subscription options are announced a year in advance for one or more of the following years. If enough academic libraries agree to subscribe under the S2O model, the journal’s content is open to all readers. If the publisher judges that an insufficient number of institutions participate in the S2O offering, content may remain (or return to being) limited to subscribers.
Advantages of S2O over other OA publishing models such as 'read and publish agreements', include minimizing disruption, reduced data management and administration, utilizing existing structures such as subscription agencies, and operating within academic library’s current budgetary commitments.
Some S2O publishers may offer incentives to subscribing libraries for renewing under S2O terms, such as discounted subscription rates or enhanced back-volume availability. Incentives may counter the free-rider sustainability challenge, which can accompany mutual assurance contracts, and is the most commonly expressed concern about S2O’s viability.
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Subscribe to Open
Subscribe to Open (S2O) is an economic model used by peer-reviewed scholarly journals to provide readers with open access (OA) to the journal’s content, without charging costs to authors. S2O converts journals that have a traditional subscription model to open access.
When the academic libraries subscribing to a journal are asked to renew their subscriptions to the journal, they are told that, with the libraries’ support, the journal will be made open access to all readers, while authors are able to publish in it at no cost. If enough libraries renew on these terms, the journal is converted to open access, and if not, access to the journal remains restricted to subscribing libraries.
The term “Open Access” (OA) was first coined in December 2001 in a call for greater access to academic journal articles, which were mainly available through subscriptions. Influential statements such as the Budapest Open Access Initiative (BOAI) in February 14, 2002, have called for improvement of the circulation of research through open access to scholarly journals. Since then, more than twenty financial models have been developed as alternatives to the traditional subscription model, beginning with authors paying article processing charges (APCs) to BioMed Central in 2002.
The Subscribe to Open model was first introduced in 2017 by the publisher Annual Reviews in consultation with Raym Crow and with a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. S2O was presented as “a practical approach for converting subscription journals to open access.”
The Subscribe to Open financial model for open access to peer-reviewed research is based on a mutual assurance contract. Mutual assurance contracts are used to create public goods by securing financial support for such goods. Under S2O, libraries help to create a public good that is universally open to both readers and authors, through subscriptions. “If all libraries continue to subscribe, then not only will those libraries have access to the content for their users, but [the journals] will also make the content openly available to non-subscribers.”
As with the traditional subscription model, S2O journal pricing and subscription options are announced a year in advance for one or more of the following years. If enough academic libraries agree to subscribe under the S2O model, the journal’s content is open to all readers. If the publisher judges that an insufficient number of institutions participate in the S2O offering, content may remain (or return to being) limited to subscribers.
Advantages of S2O over other OA publishing models such as 'read and publish agreements', include minimizing disruption, reduced data management and administration, utilizing existing structures such as subscription agencies, and operating within academic library’s current budgetary commitments.
Some S2O publishers may offer incentives to subscribing libraries for renewing under S2O terms, such as discounted subscription rates or enhanced back-volume availability. Incentives may counter the free-rider sustainability challenge, which can accompany mutual assurance contracts, and is the most commonly expressed concern about S2O’s viability.
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