Transfer News Release

UKSG TRANSFER Working Group releases Version 1.0 of its Code of Practice to Improve Procedures for Journals Transferring Between Publishers for public comment and review

Oxford, UK – 7 April 2008 – the TRANSFER Working Group launched
Version 1.0 of its Code of Practice (http://www.uksg.org/transfer/papers) which aims to improve the procedures and policies surrounding the transfer of journals between publishers. The initial draft of the Code was released in April 2007 and was applauded as an excellent first step forward by the contributing library and publisher community.  Over the last year the Working Group, made up of publishers, librarians and agents has revised and improved the initial draft of the Code.  Version 1.0 of the Code has been released for a public review period to last until 31 May 2008.

The Code is a set of voluntary guidelines for publishers involved in any journal transfer.  Comprehensive in its detail, the Code covers the thorny issues of ongoing access provision to online content, exchange of subscriber lists, DOI and URL transfer as
well as perpetual access rights to journal content.

The TRANSFER Working Group is inviting comments on the Code through the TRANSFER website: <http://www.uksg.org/transfer> where the Code of Practice and other information can also be found. Full details of the Code are being presented at the UKSG
Annual Conference in Torquay, UK (7-9 April 2008) where there will be a briefing session by Ed Pentz, Executive Director of CrossRef and Chair of the TRANSFER Working Group.

After the public review period the Working Group will review the comments and decide if any revisions are needed to the Code in light of comments received.  Once this is done the Code of Practice will be formally released and publishers will be asked to agree to follow the Code.  Publishers agreeing to align their procedures with the Code, and to apply them in practice when working with other, similarly aligned publishers, will be
considered 'TRANSFER Compliant'.  Publishers can apply the Code of Practice immediately for their wholly-owned journals and can do so for journals owned by a third party (such as a society) with new or revised contracts.

If you would like more information about the TRANSFER Code of Practice, please contact
Ed Pentz, Chair, TRANSFER Working Group, email:epentz@crossref.org

Project Transfer in the Press

“Major Publishers Sign to Project Transfer”: Information World Review, 04-Jun-07 [http://www.iwr.co.uk/2190775]

“Code Tackles Journal Transfer Problems”: Research Information, 12-Jun-07 
[http://www.researchinformation.info/news/news_story.php?news_id=75]

Transfer News Release

UKSG Working Group “Project Transfer” invites Publishers to sign-up to an agreed Code of Practice to Improve Procedures for Journals Transferring Between Publishers

Oxford, UK – 9 May 2007 – Project Transfer is inviting publishers to sign up to a Code of Practice which aims to improve the procedures and policies surrounding the transfer of journals between publishers. The Code has been drafted with extensive help from many of the major international publishing houses and has already been applauded as an excellent step forward by the contributing library community.

The Code outlines a set of guidelines for both the Transferring and the Receiving publisher in any journal transfer.  Comprehensive in its detail, the Code covers the thorny issues of ongoing access provision to online content, exchange of subscriber lists, DOI and URL transfer as well as the division and definition of born-digital versus newly digitized backfile content.

The Project Transfer Working Group is inviting publishers to sign up to this Code through the Project website: www.projecttransfer.org where the Code of Practice can also be found. Full details of the Code were launched at the UKSG Annual Conference in Warwick (16-18 April 2007).

Publishers who agree to align their procedures with the Code, and to apply them in practice when working with other, similarly aligned publishers, will be considered ‘Transfer Compliant’. Transfer Compliant publishers will not be expected to fulfill the obligations of this Code when transferring journals to or from a non-Transfer Compliant publisher. Publishers may sign up to Transfer if their own wholly-owned journals are aligned to the Code.  The Transfer Compliant publishers then have until 1st January 2008 to use every effort to ensure that any society journal contracts have also been bought into line.

All Compliant publishers will be commended for their participation in the project through a series of press release announcements, public presentations and eventually ‘gold-star’ ratings on the Project Transfer website.  Compliant publishers will also be able to proclaim themselves Transfer Compliant and may display the Transfer logo on their marketing materials and products.

The Transfer Code of Practice is Phase 1 of the Transfer Working Group’s aims for 2007.  Phase 2 of Transfer will be to create an auditing process which will monitor the Transfer Compliant publishers. This is expected to be completed before the 2008 subscription year. Phase 3 will involve the creation of a public, web-based database to host the various bibliographic, licensing and online information components that librarians need when attempting to manage their ongoing access to transferring journal subscriptions. The Project Transfer group will be inviting proposals from database suppliers in mid-2007 in order to create the prototype.

If you would like more information about the Project Transfer, please contact Nancy Buckley, Chair Project Transfer Working Group.
nancy@burgundyservices.com
Tel: +44 (0)1295 758089
Burgundy Information Services Ltd 

Ensuring quality customer access to online content when society journals change publishers

An STM Position

Many STM members publish scholarly journals on behalf of scientific or medical societies. Such publishing is conducted as a matter of a business contract between the society and the publisher, and the opportunity to publish on behalf of a society is often a matter of a bidding process among publishers selected by the society. Contractual matters are solely the province of the contract parties, and STM has no role in such "private" matters and does not intend in any way to interfere with existing contractual relationships. For a general discussion of the issues that may be involved in such transfers, STM recommends the Advice Note 18 of ALPSP (Association of Learned Professional & Scholarly Publishers) called "When a society journal changes publisher" (see www.alpsp.org/socjourn1.pdf). STM also welcomes the establishment of a working group "Transfer" by the UK Serials Group to address issues concerning the transfers of journals between publishers (see www.uksg.org/transfer.asp). It should be noted that many of the principles outlined herein and in the ALPSP note are equally applicable to general transfers or acquisitions of a journal or a portfolio of journal titles (whether or not society-owned), and applicable as well when societies decide to bring this publishing activity (back) in-house.

There are issues that potentially impact library customer access to subscribed content that may arise when a society journal changes publishers or when a society elects to begin or reinitiate its own direct publishing activities. STM supports voluntary compliance with the principles and approaches outlined herein-- these principles are intended to promote continuity of access to journal content. By addressing issues relating to continuity of access in their agreements, societies will be able to put their publishing needs out for competitive tender, with less concern that switching to a new publisher, or deciding to bring the publishing activities back within the society, will interfere with continuous access by customers to electronic content. Observance of these Guidelines is therefore pro-competitive, as it will reduce the total costs of switching publishers and has other pro-customer benefits.

One of the key issues that has arisen in the context of the transition from print to online delivery of STM journals is the question of the library customer's own "archive" of subscribed content. In the print environment, such an archive was an automatic feature - print issues were delivered and retained by the customers in their physical collection. While most database and software licenses do not provide for "post-termination" use or access, many library customers indicated that unless e-journal licensing initiatives did provide for post-termination access, they would be reluctant to accept such initiatives. The customer demand was essentially to have an electronic form of the print collection archive. Many STM members provide for just such access in their licenses for electronic journal content.

Librarians also stress the desirability of continuing to access the content they subscribe to through the same system, and under the same business terms, that they originally accepted (through the publisher license), or at least without significant re-negotiation and re-learning.

These are significant concerns expressed by the library customer community, and these Guidelines are intended to respond pro-actively to these concerns.

The following principles are suggested by STM to deal with the question of online access for customers when journals change publishers:

1. Publishers of society journals should always ensure that their customer licenses do not exceed the scope of the license granted to them by the owner societies.
2. The prior publisher should be able to continue to offer access (on a non-exclusive basis) to previously licensed journal content under, and according to the terms and conditions of, existing customer licenses.
3. The prior and new publishers should work together to minimise disruption to users by sending out joint communications and co-ordinating work on changing the access arrangements. The new publisher should aim to provide access on-line as soon as reasonably practicable after the transfer.

The gist of the guidelines noted above is that continuing post-termination access may be provided by the original publisher to existing customers for previously licensed content, provided this is consistent with the existing society journal publishing contract and with existing customer license terms and conditions.

Certain of these principles may be varied by express agreement among the two publishers and the society involved, presumably as a transitional matter.

July 2006
www.stm-assoc.org/documents-statements-public-co/

Transfer News Release

New UKSG Working Group Established to Improve Procedures for Journals Transferring Between Publishers

Oxford, UK – 18 April 2006 – A new industry-wide group involving librarians, publishers and agents, has been set up to improve the procedures and policies surrounding the transfer of journals.

The annual movement of journal titles between publishers with different publishing arrangements currently causes many headaches for librarians who have the responsibility for maintaining seamless access for readers. Issues which librarians confront include the uncertainty of what will happen to their current electronic access, their URL links, their perpetual access rights, the price of the journal, and whether or not the journal will be included in the big deal package of the new publisher, if indeed they have one.

With the absence of any universally agreed standards, the transfer of journals also causes major headaches for the publishers themselves, with inconsistent subscriber data for institutional, member, society or consortia customers, differing ownership of backfiles, conflicting formats, granularity of linking, and the imperative to maintain links to the previous publishing platform.

Some work has already been done to create standards and best practice for journal movements and other changes. The ALPSP, for example, have published guidance for society publishers, to be found at: http://www.alpsp.org/socjourn1.pdf

The purpose of this Working Group, provisionally called TRANSFER and set up under the auspices of the United Kingdom Serials Group (UKSG), is to create a Code of Practice for the transfer of journal titles between publishers. Publishers that adhere to the Code of Practice could become 'compliant' in much the same way as the COUNTER logo is displayed by publishers and vendors compliant with the COUNTER Code of Practice. The goal is to ensure that the transfer of journals between compliant vendors, and, in time, all vendors, follows agreed standards which will reduce the administrative load for librarians and ensure seamless access. In all aspects the Group must be considerate of anti-trust and anti-competition rules.

The first meeting of the UKSG Working Group was held in Oxford, UK, on March 30th, 2006.

Proposed members of the Group include:

Nancy Buckley, Chair (Blackwell Publishing)
Louise Cole (University of Leeds)
Jo Connolly (Swets Information Services)
Helen Crook (Sage Publications Ltd)
Nick Evans (Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers)
Paul Harwood (Content Complete Ltd)
Helen Henderson (Ringgold e-Marketing Services)
Alison Mitchell (Nature Publishing Group)
Ed Pentz (CrossRef)
Jill Taylor-Roe (University of Newcastle upon Tyne)

If you would like more information about the Group, please contact: Nancy.Buckley@oxon.blackwellpublishing.com

Media Contact:
Emily Gillingham
Blackwell Publishing, Oxford
Tel: +44 (0)1865 476425
Emily.Gillingham@oxon.blackwellpublishing.com