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 9.23. Publishers of subscription-based journals will face a number of challenges in the mixed model environment we recommend. Many of them are already considering a transition towards open access publishing, including hybrid journals. But in the new environment, that will become a much more urgent issue. The new policies and procedures we are supporting and promoting put the UK in the vanguard of moves towards open access, and we have stressed the need for international action. But subscription-based publishers will have to decide whether to respond to the initiatives in the UK by providing an open access option for those journals where it is not currently available, or to shift at least some of their journals wholly to open access, on what timescale, and at what level of APC. They will have to reach difficult judgments as to the pace of change—in the UK and the rest of the world—in the different disciplines they cover. They will also have to consider the risks inherent in decisions on whether—and if so when and how—to move to an open access or hybrid model.

9.24. Decisions on how best to proceed may be particularly difficult for publishers—learned societies prominent among them—of prestigious journals in the humanities and social sciences, where rates of publication and other factors may mean that APCs have to be set at a relatively high level. All learned societies will have to consider the risks associated with moves to open access, and the extent to which they rely on their publishing revenues to support their wider activities. Some publishers, especially in the humanities and social sciences, may decide to retain their subscription-based journals for some time to come. Although understandable that approach is not risk free; as more publications internationally are on an open access basis, the remaining subscription-based journals could find it more difficult to attract the best papers, with long term implications for their income as well as their quality.

9.25. A large-scale shift to open access publishing will also require publishers to develop—in consultation with their customers in universities and other research institutions, and also with other intermediaries such as subscription agents—more efficient arrangements for the payment of APCs on a much bigger scale than hitherto, in order to minimise transaction costs. They should also consult with other players in the research communications landscape on such matters as the arrangements for the payment of APCs for publications with authors from different countries and institutions; and for reducing or waiving APCs where authors are not affiliated to an institution that can meet the cost on their behalf. It is also essential that—particularly where the hybrid model is adopted—effective measures are put in place to ensure that readers and institutions are made aware that the journals in question, or specific articles within them, are accessible free of charge. Publishers should also provide clear information about the balance between the revenues provided in APCs and in subscriptions to hybrid journals.

9.26. All publishers should continue to experiment with ways to add value to their content in key areas including moves towards ‘semantic publishing’ and linkages