1. SCOAP3 –
Sponsoring Consortium for Open
Access Publishing in Particle Physics
Dr Ralf Schimmer, Max Planck Digital Library
UKSG, Breakout Session C
Bournemouth, 9/10 April 2013

2. Outline
1. What is SCOAP3?
2. What happened so far?
3. What is happening at the moment?

3. The SCOAP3 Model
• SCOAP3 = Sponsoring Consortium for Open Access
Publishing in Particle Physics
• The objective is to convert content in existing high-
energy physics (HEP) journals from their current
subscription-based model to open access
• While services of publishers are fully acknowledged
– Quality assurance in the publication process (peer review
and editorial services)
– Provision of the final published versions
• Payment streams to be re-directed from subscriptions
to cover the publishing costs
– Use the money that is already in the system

4. The SCOAP3 Consortium
• The product of extensive coalition-building with
stakeholders in the community of scholarly
communication across the world
– HEP community, governments, funders, libraries, publishers
• Out of this community, SCOAP3 has created an
international consortium that will centrally contract
with HEP journal publishers
• CERN, the center of the global high-energy physics
community, based in Geneva, Switzerland, has led
SCOAP3 and will administer this effort going forward
• Budget envelope: 10M€/year (2014-2016)
• Contribution on a country basis according fair share
principle based on HEP publications

5. Fair Share Principle
Each country contributes as share
Distribution of HEP publications, average 2005-2006
of worldwide HEP publications
United States 24,9%
South Africa 0,1%
Other Countries 9,3%
Sweden 0,8% Germany 9,1%
Mexico 0,8%
Taiwan 0,8%
Portugal 0,9%
Netherlands 0,9%
Japan 7,2%
Iran 0,9%
Israel 1,0%
Poland 1,3%
Switzerland 1,4% Italy 6,9%
Korea 1,8%
CERN 2,0%
India 2,6% United Kingdom 6,7%
Brazil 2,6%
Canada 2,7% Russia 3,4% China 5,3%
Spain 2,9% France 3,8% Cern Scientific Information Service
J. Krause et al. CERN-OPEN-2007-014

6. TheSCOAP 3 model
summarized:

7. Re-use the CERN and HEP model…

8. …of international co-operation…

9. build
a global
partnership

10. Use money currently…

11. …spent by to license content…

12. …to directly pay peer-review services.

13. And make all content Open

14. Budget envelope: 10M€/year

15. SCOAP3 at a Glance:
Timeline and Interaction
National Contact Points
Actors National HEP community; government HEP community
Publishers
agencies; universities, libraries & CERN
consortia (“SCOAP3 partners”)
2005 Consultation within the HEP community
2006 Internal consensus on SCOAP3 idea
(Task Force)
2007 Design of the business model
(Working Party)
2008 Outreach and information campaign  Build worldwide consensus  Outreach and information
“Expressions of interest”  and pledges  Q&A dialogues
2011 National representatives input  Go-ahead decision; start tender process  Publisher input
SC TWG
Timeline
Market Survey  Response to Market Survey
2012 Invitation to Tender  Submission of bids
Results announced
Participation & agreement  Launch meeting 1 October 2012  Discussing reconciliation
Reconciliation concept developed  Reconciliation pilots
2013 Provide mappings  Mapping
Libraries
Calculate reductions  Cost Reduction Calculator  Calculate reductions
Consortia NCP
Governmt. Upload reductions  Reconciliation Facility  Upload reductions
Reconciliation  Reconciliation  Reconciliation
Accession  NCP MoU signed  MoUs with NCPs; contracts with publishers  Contracts signed; adjust price
agreements lists 2014; notify subs. agents
2014 SCOAP3 goes live; start operation
Interaction

16. SCOAP3 Steering Committee
“to co-ordinate the SCOAP3 tendering process, designing the consortium
governance, and bringing the initiative into its operational phase”
• Jun Adachi, NII, Japan
• Paul Ayris, JISC Collections, U.K.
• Stefano Bianco, INFN, Italy
• Miriam Blake, LANL, U.S.
• Martin Koehler, DESY, Germany
• Salvatore Mele, CERN, Switzerland (Convener)
• Joao Moreira, FCCN, Portugal
• Ann Okerson, CRL, U.S.
• Ralf Schimmer, MPG, Germany
• Xiaolin Zhang, CAS, China
• Ivy Anderson. CDL, U.S. (ex-officio TWG liaison)

17. SCOAP3 Technical Working Group
“to address the key question of the price reduction for content today in large-scale
subscription packages and eventually to be converted by SCOAP3 to Open
Access [...and] collect requirements, analyse principles, and suggest ways
forward toward a concrete implementation and monitoring”
• Ivy Anderson, CDL, U.S. (chair)
• Paola Gargiulo, CASPUR, Italy
• Anne Gentil-Beccot, CERN, Switzerland
• Paul Harwood, JISC Collections, U.K.
• Carol Hoover, LANL, U.S.
• Tomonari Kinto, Tokyo, Japan [support: Satoru Kinoshita]
• Angelika Kutz, TIB, Germany
• Tom Sanville, LYRASIS, U.S.
• Jiancheng Zheng, CAS, China

18. SCOAP3 Tendering Process
• Developed by an international team of experts representing a
cross-section of libraries and funding agencies supporting
SCOAP3, with input from the publishing industry and the
support of CERN legal and purchasing services
• A set of concrete specifications and agreement framework
describing the SCOAP3 model was made publicly available in
June, 2012. This specification is freely available at
http://scoap3.org/files/Technical_Specification.pdf
• CERN reviewed the bids to identify the publishing partners and
selected journals for which a contract for peer review, open
access and other publishing services could be awarded.
• An open and competitive tender

19. http://scoap3.org/files/Technical_Specification.pdf

20. SCOAP3 Tendering Process
• Spring 2012 – publishers of HEP journals invited
to submit proposals for participation
• Evaluation process was based on:
– Price per article quoted by publisher
(based on 2011 article volume, with price to hold
steady in 2014-2016)
– Quality (Impact factor, CC license, delivery format)
– Agreement to reduce subscription $$ according to
volume of articles converted to Open Access

21. SCOAP 3 tender results

22. SCOAP3 Tender Results
(alphabetical order)
SCOAP3
SCOAP3 Articles
Publisher Journal Percentage APC*
(2011)
(2011)
APS Physical Review D 2989 ALL 1900 USD
APS Physical Review C 107 9.9% 1900 USD
Elsevier Nuclear Physics B 284 ALL 1800 USD
Elsevier Physics Letters B 1010 ALL 2000 USD
Hindawi AHEP 28 ALL 1000 USD
IOPp/DPG New Journal of Physics 20 2.7% 1000 GBP
IOPp/SISSA JCAP 138 30.9% 1200 GBP
IOPp/CAS Chinese Physics C 16 7.2% 1400 GBP
Jagellonian Acta physica polonica B 23 22.1% 500 EUR
Springer/SISSA JHEP 1652 ALL 1000 GBP
Springer/SIF EPJC 326 ALL 1500 EUR
OUP/PSP PTP 46 36.2% 1200 EUR
*APC = Article Processing Charges

23. SCOAP3 at a Glance:
Timeline and Interaction
National Contact Points
Actors National HEP community; government HEP community
Publishers
agencies; universities, libraries & CERN
consortia (“SCOAP3 partners”)
2005 Consultation within the HEP community
2006 Internal consensus on SCOAP3 idea
(Task Force)
2007 Design of the business model
(Working Party)
2008 Outreach and information campaign  Build worldwide consensus  Outreach and information
“Expressions of interest”  and pledges  Q&A dialogues
2011 National representatives input  Go-ahead decision; start tender process  Publisher input
SC TWG
Timeline
Market Survey  Response to Market Survey
2012 Invitation to Tender  Submission of bids
Results announced
Participation & agreement  Launch meeting 1 October 2012  Discussing reconciliation
Reconciliation concept developed  Reconciliation pilots
2013 Provide mappings  Mapping
Libraries
Calculate reductions  Cost Reduction Calculator  Calculate reductions
Consortia NCP
Governmt. Upload reductions  Reconciliation Facility  Upload reductions
Reconciliation  Reconciliation  Reconciliation
Accession  NCP MoU signed  MoUs with NCPs; contracts with publishers  Contracts signed; adjust price
agreements lists 2014; notify subs. agents
2014 SCOAP3 goes live; start operation
Interaction

24. SCOAP3 tender results
(re-grouped for reconciliation process)
SCOAP3 Articles SCOAP3 %
Publisher Journal Status
(2011) (2011)
APS Physical Review D 2989 ALL Subs
Elsevier Nuclear Physics B 284 ALL Subs
Elsevier Physics Letters B 1010 ALL Subs
Springer/SISSA JHEP 1652 ALL Subs
Springer/SIF EPJC 326 ALL Subs
IOPp/SISSA JCAP 138 30.9% Subs
APS Physical Review C 107 9.9% Subs
IOPp/CAS Chinese Physics C 16 7.2% Subs
IOPp/DPG New Journal of Physics 20 2.7% OA
Hindawi AHEP 28 ALL OA
Jagellonian Acta physica polonica B 23 22.1% OA
OUP/PSP PTP 46 36.2% OA
Key, urgent and indispensible step:
understand subscription reductions for each SCOAP3 participating library/consortium

25. 4.1 Reduction of Subscription
Costs

26. Five Steps for Reduction
1. Identify SCOAP3 Partner libraries in each
country (mapping)
2. Publishers propose reduction for each one
3. Libraries/consortia calculate/verify
expected reduction
4. CERN/SCOAP3 “reconciles” numbers
5. Reduction: legal obligation for publishers

27. 1. Identify SCOAP3 Partner libraries in each
country
Mapping template

28. 2. Publishers propose reductions
3. Libraries/consortia calculate/verify expected reduction
Invitation to Tender Annex 1: Cost Reduction Scenarios

29. 2. Publishers propose reductions
3. Libraries/consortia calculate/verify expected reduction
Invitation to Tender Annex 1: Cost Reduction Scenarios

30. Cost Reduction Scenarios

31. Cost Reduction Scenarios
• Covers all of the major contract types that exist
around the world
1. Individual Subscriptions
2. Packages with known subscription costs
3. Packages based on historical subscriptions
4. Packages of subscribed journals with a single fixed cost
5. Packages of unsubscribed journals with a single fixed cost
• Applies to individual libraries, library consortia,
and national-level contracts
• Pilot calculations with APS, Elsevier, Springer

32. Cost Reduction Calculator
• Can be completed by libraries, consortia, or national contact points
• Detailed instructions available to guide data entry
• Pre-built formulas will calculate amount of reduction from basic contract information

33. Example: Individual Subscription
Simply enter currency, price, and number of
subscriptions…

34. And you’re done!
Totals calculate automatically

35. 4.CERN/SCOAP3 “reconciles” numbers
Reconciliation Facility: Web-database
with access control

36. Reconciliation Facility Excel File
Generated automatically from “mapping” information
Filled by each library, consortium or national contact point
Calculator can be uploaded as supporting documentation

37. Upload confirmation page

38. Five Steps for Reduction
1. Identify SCOAP3 Partner libraries in each
country (mapping)
2. Publishers propose reduction for each one
3. Libraries/consortia calculate/verify
expected reduction
4. CERN/SCOAP3 “reconciles” numbers
5. Reduction: legal obligation for
publishers

39. SCOAP3 at a Glance:
Timeline and Interaction
National Contact Points
Actors National HEP community; government HEP community
Publishers
agencies; universities, libraries & CERN
consortia (“SCOAP3 partners”)
2005 Consultation within the HEP community
2006 Internal consensus on SCOAP3 idea
(Task Force)
2007 Design of the business model
(Working Party)
2008 Outreach and information campaign  Build worldwide consensus  Outreach and information
“Expressions of interest”  and pledges  Q&A dialogues
2011 National representatives input  Go-ahead decision; start tender process  Publisher input
SC TWG
Timeline
Market Survey  Response to Market Survey
2012 Invitation to Tender  Submission of bids
Results announced
Participation & agreement  Launch meeting 1 October 2012  Discussing reconciliation
Reconciliation concept developed  Reconciliation pilots
2013 Provide mappings  Mapping
Libraries
Calculate reductions  Cost Reduction Calculator  Calculate reductions
Consortia NCP
Governmt. Upload reductions  Reconciliation Facility  Upload reductions
Reconciliation  Reconciliation  Reconciliation
Accession  NCP MoU signed  MoUs with NCPs; contracts with publishers  Contracts signed; adjust price
agreements lists 2014; notify subs. agents
2014 SCOAP3 goes live; start operation
Interaction

40. Thank you for your attention!
For information, please visit
http://scoap3.org