Rod Cookson (IWA Publishing), Vivian Berghahn (Berghahn Books), Suzanne Atkins (University of Birmingham) Subscribe to Open (S2O) is emerging as an effective way to provide inclusive Open Access using existing infrastructure and library budgets. The benefits of moving to S2O are immediate and wide-ranging, and it is a highly equitable model. In this panel, two publishers who have adopted S2O – Vivian Berghahn from Berghahn Books and Rod Cookson from IWA Publishing – discuss their experience, the challenges encountered and the role of librarians in S2O transitions. They are joined by Suzanne Atkins, Open Access and Research Publications Advisor at the University of Birmingham, who will give a library perspective on S2O initiatives.

1. ● ROD COOKSON, IWA Publishing
● VIVIAN BERGHAHN, Berghahn Books
● SUZANNE ATKINS, University of Birmingham
The UKSG 45th Annual Conference
May 30 – June 1, 2022
Subscribe to Open
Benefits delivered and lessons learned

2. What is your current level of
knowledge about Subscribe To Open?
1 I have no idea what it is.
2 I understand the broad concept but
not the detail.
3 I completely understand what it is.

3. • S2O is a business model to convert entire volumes (years) of a journal
to OA. It is applicable to all disciplines and to authors in all countries.
• Under S2O, Institutional customers continue to subscribe to the
journals that their patrons value.
• If support is sufficient, new volumes are published OA under a Creative
Commons license; if support is insufficient, the paywall is retained.
• So, it is a subscription model, not a voluntary donation approach.
Richard Gallagher, Annual Reviews, writing in the Scholarly Kitchen
What is Subscribe To Open (S2O)?

4. • Whole journals become Open Access immediately
• It is inclusive and fair
• There are no APCs
• Readership and authorship become truly global
• Uses existing sales and procurement channels
• Cost neutral for libraries, revenue neutral for publishers
Why is S2O good?

5. ● Subscribers get access to historic archive
● Traditional value metrics say so!
● Library spending makes entire journals OA with S2O
● New articles published with CC-BY licence – permanent OA
● Equity matters – and S2O is fair for all
● Journals may revert back to paywall-only access if there is
insufficient support for S2O
Why support S2O?

6. Recalibrating Open Access
● Consolidation of the market > Statement on stakeholder support for smaller
publishers (17/06/2021)
“We, the undersigned, will work together to minimize complexity and maximize efficiency and
to support the transition of smaller independent publishers to sustainable, equitable,
immediate Open Access publishing models.”
Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers (ALPSP), cOAlition S, Center for
Research Libraries (CRL), ESAC (MPDL), JISC, LYRASIS, Open Access 2020
● APC centric > cOAlition S endorsement of models like S2O (27/04/2021)
“Using existing budget and subscription processes without imposing paywalls, S2O provides
a rapid route to open access that is applicable to research from all disciplines and all
countries. cOAlition S encourages publishers to seriously consider the Subscribe to Open
Model as a model for achieving full transformation to open access publishing and Plan S
compliance.”

7. Subscribe to Open (S2O)
Community of Practice
● Established: August 2020
○ Meets monthly: 13 > 65 participants
● Aims: to disseminate best practices for all stakeholders to adopt and implement the
principles of S2O
○ Goal: to build consensus around S2O as a sustainable mechanism for delivering Open Access
● Participants: Librarians, Publishers, Funders, Subscription agents and other intermediaries
○ Membership is neutral and does not imply intent to implement the model, but an interest in discussing and
learning about S2O
○ www.subscribetoopencommunity.org/members-of-the-community-of-practice

8. 12/3/21, 1:10 PM Word Art
S2O CoP Publishers
140+

9. A Discipline-driven Subscribe-to-Open Model
Benefits Delivered
Vivian Berghahn
Managing Director
Berghahn Books
www.berghahnjournals.com

10. Berghahn Books
▪ Independent mission-driven scholarly press
▪ A family firm established in 1994 with 25 staff across offices in Brooklyn, NY and
Oxford, UK and beyond
▪ Focused on the humanities and social sciences
▪ Anthropology & Archaeology; European History; Environmental Studies; Film Studies;
Gender Studies; Refugee and Migration Studies
▪ 2022 Publishing program
▪ ~125 new titles / ~50 paperback editions per year
▪ Simultaneous print and ebooks / avg. 10 OA books (~65 OA books LTD)
▪ 40 journals / 20 OA
▪ Subscribe-to-open launched in 2020
www.berghahnbooks.com/blog/berghahn-open-anthro-journey

11. APC vs S2O
S2O

12. Berghahn Open Anthro
▪ 14 anthropology titles open access in 2022 using S2O
www.berghahnjournals.com: FAQs, List of participants, Pilot history
Library participation is as simple as:
▪ Renewing existing subscriptions
▪ Adding select titles
▪ Upgrading to the entire collection
○ Libraries can choose to opt in via their preferred channel:
■ Direct with the publisher
■ Via their regular subscription agent
■ Through Knowledge Unlatched (for the collection)
○ BOA Options:
▪ Select journal titles – avg subscription price: $245
Every single subscription counts
▪ 1-year (5% discount) and 3-year collection (15% discount – set for 3 years)

13. Authorship

14. Usage
0
50,000
100,000
150,000
200,000
250,000
300,000
350,000
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Article downloads
2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
168%
0
50,000
100,000
150,000
200,000
250,000
300,000
350,000
400,000
450,000
500,000
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Overall journal engagement
2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
131%
148%
122%

15. Regional participation

16. What is your current level of engagement with
S2O in your library?
1 We do not support any S2O journals at present.
2 We support some S2O journals and do not plan
to change that.
3 We support some S2O journals and intend to
support more in future.
4 We support many S2O journals.
5 None of the above.

17. Our experience with S2O
Rod Cookson, IWA Publishing

18. 1.
The benefits of S2O
May/June 2022 | Our experience with S2O

19. IWA helps solve huge real world problems, saving lives and improving health

21. Journal article downloads
May/June 2022 | Our experience with S2O
0
1,000,000
2,000,000
3,000,000
4,000,000
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 ytd
109%

22. Download geography, 2021
May/June 2022 | Our experience with S2O

23. …and our profile is changing
May/June 2022 | Our experience with S2O
Asia
Africa
Americas
Europe

24. S2O, top submission factors
May/June 2022 | Our experience with S2O
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Support for writing tools (such as Overleaf and Editage)
Supportive, helpful staff at IWA Publishing
The reputation of the journal Editor/s
I expected my article to be accepted
I have previously published articles in the journal
Recommendation from a colleague
Supportive, helpful Editorial team
I want to support the International Water Association
The journal is central to the community I work in
Speed of peer review
The journal's global readership
The reputation of IWA Publishing
Speed of publication
The journal's Open Access policies
The journal's Impact Factor
Quality of peer review
2021 Q4 (n=134) 2020 Q4 (n=91) 2019 Q4 (n=57)

25. OA matters to authors
May/June 2022 | Our experience with S2O
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

26. 2.
What needs to happen next?
May/June 2022 | Our experience with S2O

27. We want supporting S2O
to become as normal for
librarians as purchasing a
traditional subscription.

28. The future is collaborative
● Funders, libraries and publishers must work together to ensure there is adequate
funding for OA models like S2O
● Now: individual libraries support S2O programmes
● Now: multi-year agreements to demonstrate faith in S2O
● Now: publishers must show that S2O delivers value for money to library customers –
better reporting; SciFree, JCS; sensible pricing
● Medium term: if S2O succeeds, more publishers will adopt it – many more OA journals
● Longer term: collaborative design of next stages of S2O, so that it works for all
May/June 2022 | Our experience with S2O

29. What would make your more likely to support
S2O initiatives in future?
1 Clear guidance from Jisc that S2O is a desirable model.
2 Clear guidance from cOAlition S and other funders that
S2O is a desirable model.
3 Data demonstrating the benefits of S2O.
4 More information about how to implement S2O in
practice.
5 More money in my library budget.
6 Talking to librarians who already support S2O journals.
7 Other [Free text field]

30. S2O:
a library
perspective
Suzanne Atkins
Open Access Librarian, University of Birmingham
https://intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/openaccess
s.atkins.1@bham.ac.uk / Twitter @suzanne_atkins

31. University
of Birmingham
Russell group institution; Jisc Band 2
OA block grants from UKRI, Wellcome, CRUK, BHF
Library services has 34 publishing agreements in 2022
including Read and Publish, Full OA, S2O
Concerns about spiralling costs of Read and Publish
Awareness that R&P is not suitable for many publishers
Supportive of any model that is innovative and moves
away from the APC model

32. UoB S2O
agreements
Currently have S2O agreements with LUP and Annual
Reviews
Our decisions to sign based on existing subscription
spend, publishing activity and demand from authors
These are included in our SciFree search tool to help
authors identify journals covered by agreements
We also have information on our webpages
explaining S2O and each agreement individually
https://app.scifree.se/birmingham
https://intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/
openaccess/agreements

33. Positives
Fits into existing
our library budget –
moves away from
APC model
Ensures compliance
with funders and
widens OA for
unfunded authors
Avoids time-
consuming admin
such as dashboard
approvals or
invoicing
Straightforward to
communicate to
authors

34. Challenges
What if other institutions do not
subscribe?
Ensuring our institution
understands why we need to
continue to support S2O
Communicating what deals we
have to our authors – and the
differences between them
Practical concerns: knowing
when/if the S2O titles are open.
Who does the publisher notify?

35. THANK YOU!
● Rod Cookson: rod.cookson@iwap.co.uk
● Vivian Berghahn: vivian.berghahn@berghahnbooks.com
● Suzanne Atkins: S.Atkins.1@bham.ac.uk
Q&A
Subscribe to Open
Benefits delivered and lessons learned