Manchester,
01
May
2019
|
15:03
Europe/London
Chris Pressler discusses the complex world of scientific publishing on BBC Radio Four
Chris Pressler has featured on a BBC Radio Four programme hosted by Matthew Cobb, Professor of Zoology at University of Manchester, discussing the "hidden world of prestige, profits and piracy that lurks behind scientific journals."
'The Great Science Publishing Scandal' looks at how people access the thousands of articles published each year that form the official record of science:
How the Library is affected by the publishing world
Professor Cobb spoke with Chris about his perspective on the current complicated and competing publishing models - paywall subscription and Open Access, where the researcher pays for publication of their paper online, which is then free for all to read.
Professor Cobb said: "My library at the University of Manchester is the third-largest in the UK and it holds the country's largest digital collection. In his office, the Librarian Chris Pressler told me that each year he spends around £4 million on actual books but around £10 million on e-books and journals. But he wouldn't me how much goes to the big scientific publishers."
Chris replied: "It's a complex question - it doesn't sound like one but it is. We wouldn't be able to say specifically what our deals are with specific publishers because of commercial sensitivity. Some of our deals are done at institutional level but most of the big deals in the United Kingdom are done nationally."
When asked when it was that the amount payable was deemed too much, Chris replied: "From a Library perspective, we passed that point at least a decade ago."
Chris added this was not sustainable:
“
Absolutely not, I would say whilst we work very closely with colleagues in Faculty, I think it would be a fair claim to make that the libraries in particular in the UK have been a leading voice in terms of questioning these subscriptions in the first place, but certainly questioning their annual above-inflation increases which can hit seven, eight, even 20%.
In fact, it could be argued that in the days where journals were principally print, there were costs associated with producing print that are not replicated (now). There are obviously costs with digital editions but the costs to the publishers are generally less.
"From a Librarian's perspective, it's been very important for us to retain back files to digital journals. The business model used to be the case that the Library would purchase journals and own them in perpetuity whereas in the digital world, we're only renting access to them.
Christopher Pressler, University Librarian and Director of The John Rylands Library
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Chris also discussed how the competing models affected the Library's budget.
"At the moment, we're paying both to read and to publish so we're buying subscriptions and paying Article Processing Charges (APCs). From a Librarian's perspective, I see two funds going out of my budget as opposed to what used to be one."
Listen to the programme
You can listen to the 30-minute recording, which was broadcast on Monday, 29 April 2019 on the BBC Four website: