An independent report published in January 2020 by Information Power aims to improve the transparency of Open Access (OA) prices and services. The report is the outcome of a project funded by Wellcome and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) on behalf of cOAlition S to inform the development of Plan S. During the project, libraries, funders, publishers, and universities worked together to inform the development of a framework intended to provide information about OA services and prices in a transparent, practical, and insightful way.

A study reveals that research scientists in Ghana may have more awareness of predatory journals than expected, but they may lack the training or tools necessary for deciding whether or not a journal is legitimate.

Springer Nature appealed to cOAlition S in an open letter not to lose the opportunity Transformative Journals offer to speed up the transition to OA. Unless changes are made to the conditions being proposed the publisher believes it would be unable to commit to its journals participating. Springer Nature proposed an alternative timeframe and workable set of metrics in place of the cOAlition S requirements. This is cOAlition S’ reponse.

SciELO publishing serves as a framework for the implementation of national public policies for the development of peer-reviewed journals under national conditions while at the same time being part of an international network following the state of art in scientific communication. Moreover, the SciELO Network embodies a program of international cooperation for the progress of research and its open communication with a view towards an inclusive global flow of scientific information that considers the diversity of geographies, thematic areas, cultures, multilingualism and the resulting richness of asymmetries.

Alicia Wise of Information Power was invited to deliver a plenary presentation at the Charleston Conference. In just ten minutes, she was to discuss Our Open Future: how we will achieve Open Access, Open Infrastructure, and Open Research. This article develops the theme of how new – sometimes unexpected – collaborations will be available and essential to moving into the new open world.

ALPSP believes in the value of community-led publishing as a vital part of a thriving research ecosystem, and that this is recognized in the transition to open access. ALPSP members hope that cOalition S will continue to listen to feedback from the community in formulating its final guidelines. They are encouraging their members to respond to the consultation, using the survey.

The closing dates for comment is 6 January 2020.

This article reports on selected findings from the pilot African Open Science Platform landscape study, conducted by the Academy of Science of South Africa ASSAF, on request of the South African Department of Science and Technology, and funded by the National Research Foundation. Direction was provided by CODATA (International Science Council).

Agreements with open access (OA) elements (e.g. agreements with APC discounts, offsetting agreements, read and publish agreements) have been increasing in number in the last few years. Consortia and academic institutions need to monitor the number of OA publications, the costs and the value of these agreements. Publishers are therefore required to account for the articles published OA to consortia, academic institutions and research funders. One way publishers can do so is by providing regular reports with article-level metadata. This article uses the Knowledge Exchange (KE) and the Efficiency and Standards for Article Charges (ESAC) initiative recommendations as a check-list to assess what article-level metadata consortia request from publishers and what metadata publishers deliver to consortia.

Open Access guidelines propose recommendations to improve Open Access to publications in the arts and humanities. The core aim is to bring closer the harmonized but transforming European Open Access policy landscape to the communities around DARIAH and recommend very practical steps to achieve compliance with it.

In September 2019, a project that included funders backing Plan S, the European-led effort to speed the transition to open access, released a set of contract templates and tips meant to help small, independent publishers reach deals with libraries that would eventually eliminate subscriptions while protecting revenue. The project also helped arrange pilots, which may soon be inked, that use the guidance; they will allow researchers served by library consortia to publish an unlimited number of open-access articles in return for a set fee paid to societies.