Are Transformative Agreements Worth It? An Analysis of Open Access Publication Data at the University of Kentucky

• Published in: Library resources & technical services Vol. 68; no. 1
• Main Author: Rawlins, Ben
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chicago American Library Association 01.07.2024
• Subjects: Academic libraries; Agreements; Analysis; Book publishing; Business models; Consortia; Costs; International economic relations; Library resources; Open access books; Open access publishing; Publishing industry; Scholarly publishing; Subscriptions; Technical services; University and college libraries; Web applications; United States; United Kingdom
• ISSN: 2159-9610; 0024-2527; 2159-9610
• DOI: 10.5860/lrts.68n1.8211

Open access publishing is continuing to grow as funders such as cOAlition S, National Institutes of Health, and the White House implement mandates and requirements that publicly funded research be made immediately available for public consumption. Publishers have adopted open access as a business model through transformative agreements that combine subscription and publishing fees. However, it is unclear whether these agreements are beneficial for libraries. This article discusses a project by the University of Kentucky Libraries to gather and analyze open access publication data to aid in the evaluation of transformative agreement proposals. This article also discusses how the University of Kentucky compares to peer institutions in the Southeastern Conference and other benchmark institutions regarding open access publishing output. Additionally, this article discusses downsides of transformative agreements and highlights promising alternatives.