A ‘Town Hall’ discussion meeting will be held on Wednesday 22 February, 14:15-15:15, in the Unilever Lecture Theatre, Department of Chemistry, to explore issues surrounding journal subscriptions by the University:

– What are the principles that should be used to decide whether to start or to renew journal subscriptions?
– How should we balance payment for subscriptions, for open access papers and for hybrid journals?
– How should learned societies distinguish themselves from commercial publishers?

The University’s current subscription deal with the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) expired at the end of 2016. Various deals are on offer from the publisher through JISC and a decision needs to be made on which deal (if any) to agree. The discussions at the Town Hall meeting will inform the Physical Sciences Consultative Committee, which will make a recommendation on the renewal. However, the discussion will address journal subscriptions more widely than just those published by the RSC, and will be highly relevant to researchers across all disciplines.

All members of the University are welcome and the discussion will be recorded. Input at the meeting and afterwards will also be welcomed (by 24 February).

Please indicate attendance via this Doodle poll to give an indication of numbers.