CSU / Elsevier ScienceDirect Renewal Supports the Future of Research in California

This article was written by CSU Libraries on March 9th, 2020.

We are pleased to announce that the California State University has finalized a two-year ScienceDirect contract with Elsevier. In this impactful move, the CSU Libraries have agreed to a Read and Publish-Plus agreement with substantial savings, additional content, and a vision that moves the CSU Libraries and Elsevier towards a new model of academic publishing.

This agreement offers excellent content for a fair price, purposefully equalizes access across all 23 campuses, and sets the stage for the CSU faculty to more fully engage in Open Access publishing in ways that make sense for them and their fields of research.

See UC Statement in support of CSU.

COST

The CSU Libraries and Elsevier have come to an agreement that the renewal costs will increase 1.5% for both 2020 and 2021 — a significant reduction from previous years. The final percentages will be lower in light of a subscription rebalancing reduction. The full contract will soon be available at CALUSOURCE, where all California public higher education systems contracts are accessible by authorized users. Additionally, agreements are subject to public disclosure via the CA Public Records Act.

CONTENT: Increased access & equity of access

The 2020/2021 two-year contract increases access two ways:

• Access to the Complete Collection and Cell Press Collection, our previous standard holdings and Access to the CSU Access Collection (formerly Gratis List) at no additional cost
• New access to the Freedom Collection at no additional cost

AUTHORS’ CHOICE FOR EXPANDED ACCESS

CSU authors will continue to be able to choose the copyright model they prefer. For authors who wish to go Open Access, all Author Publishing Charges (APCs) will be waived in both 2020 and 2021 for CSU corresponding authors. This option is unlimited and does not impact publishing decisions.

VENDOR NEGOTIATIONS; INCLUDING AND BEYOND ELSEVIER

The California State University and the University of California are building a partnership in line with the Master Plan for Higher Education in California that affirms the values of both institutions in providing our communities and taxpayers with unfettered access to our academic output. Combined, we are the largest academic system in the U.S. and possibly the world. In the future and when possible, the priorities of affordable access to information and open access will be approached as a state-wide endeavor and may include partnerships with Statewide California Electronic Library Consortium (SCELC), who represents nearly all private academic institutions in California, and other California institutions as well.