Helsinki University Open Access Hub Project: Results, Challenges, and Plans

Helsinki University Open Access Hub project (2017-2019) was executed in 2017-2019. This poster presents the results, challenges, and plans of designing open access services in the library.

RESULTS: THE OPEN ACCESS HUB

During the project, library created several services and work practices:

1. Practices for publication fee services: article processing charges (APC) and book processing charges (BPC).

2. Publication platform services: Helda Open Books and Editori, platform for open journals.

3. Helsinki University Press, open access publisher in co-operation with academic publisher Gaudeamus.

After the project, there is a need to create criteria and a structured way to evaluate our services, old and new. When we create new services, we need to know, after the pilot stage, which of them should be continued or discontinued, and how to implement project work into normal workflows.

In this poster, we especially concentrate on the APC fund and Open Access monograph services of the library.

CHALLENGES AND PLANS

Traditionally library services have centered on lending and acquiring. Now, library is transforming from a repository to a publisher. Do we understand our new role and its demands? New services call for new resources and skills. Implementation and centralization of open access services to university staff has changed our service structure for our patrons and the workflows inside the library and between internal service units.

For instance, implementation of Plan S initiative in 2021 demands us to re-evaluate our services and systems. In order to answer to these demands library establishes APC fund. For the first time, library collects subscription expenditure and publication cost data on the university level, for the university reporting and other possible needs (e.g. Ministry of Education, OpenAPC, research funders).

In the rapidly changing field of Open Access, how can we define the open access services evaluation criteria? How can we measure the importance and return of invest (ROI) of the developed services? How do we justify our decisions to our patrons and our alma mater? Do we have the necessary courage to stop doing something?

Library is collecting data of the publishing culture in the University of Helsinki: both financial data of APCs and BPCs and publication data, such as evaluative information (e.g. Finnish Publication Forum classification). We gather information of publications trends, e.g. which publication channels our researchers use. We investigate the possibilities and sustainability of emerging new open access initiatives and collaborative models.

We follow the impact and visibility of Open Access monographs published by University of Helsinki’s authors and aim to create a model for this (Helda Open Books, Helsinki University Press books and the other Open Access monographs, which are funded by library). One of our aims is to follow up the usage and societal impact of those Open Access articles, for which library has paid the Open Access publication fees.