As the nation’s largest four-year public university system, the California State University’s (CSU) Council of Library Deans stand in full support of the University of California (UC) in their decision to not renew its subscriptions with Elsevier after protracted negotiations.

The UC’s firm stand is one that serves scholars of the world, including the citizens of the great State of California. The California Master Plan for Higher Education “created a system that combined exceptional quality with broad access for students.” In today’s world of diversity, inclusion, and equity, the idea that research and scholarship written by UC and CSU faculty and funded by taxpayers is not accessible across all educational systems and to all citizens is a travesty.

In a few months, the CSUs will begin negotiations with Elsevier, the world’s largest and most profitable scientific publisher, as our Elsevier Science Direct subscription is up for renewal in December 2019. We expect a repeat of past practices: another price increase that exceeds inflation and state budget allocations and student tuition and fee payments.

We are continuing conversations with our administrators, faculty, and students as to the true costs of academic publishing and research. We are educating our campuses on open access options and other ways in which we can ensure that our scholarship is open and accessible. We also hope to find a shared path forward, in partnership with Elsevier.

We are thankful to our UC colleagues and to many others who have added their voices to exposing unsustainable academic publishing practices, in which for-profit companies package and sell the intellectual output of our university professors and researchers.

Signed,

Curtis M. Asher
Dean of Libraries
California State University, Bakersfield

Emily Miller Bonney
Dean, Pollak Library
California State University, Fullerton

Stephanie Brasley
Dean, University Library
California State University, Dominguez Hills

Cesar Caballero
Dean & University Librarian
California State University, San Bernardino

Tracy Elliott
Dean, University Library
San Jose State University

Jennifer L. Fabbi
Dean, University Library
California State University, San Marcos

Emma C. Gibson
Interim Dean, University Library
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

Del Hornbuckle
Dean of Library Services
California State University, Fresno

Amy Kautzman
Dean & Director, University Library
California State University, Sacramento

Roman Kochan
Dean & Director of the Library
California State University, Long Beach

Deborah C. Masters
University Librarian
San Francisco State University

Patrick McCarthy
Interim Dean
San Diego State University

Patrick Newell
Dean, Meriam Library
California State University, Chico

Cyril Oberlander
University Library Dean
Humboldt State University

Adriana Popescu
Dean of Library Services
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

Juan Carlos Rodriguez
Dean, University Library
California State University, Los Angeles

Ronald Rodriguez
Dean of Library Services
California State University, Stanislaus

Karen G. Schneider
Dean of the Library
Sonoma State University

Mark Stover
Dean, University Library
California State University, Northridge

Michele Van Hoeck
Dean of the Library
California State University Maritime Academy

Alicia Virtue
Incoming Dean, John Spoor Broome Library
California State University, Channel Islands

John Wenzler
Dean of Libraries
California State University, East Bay

Frank M. Wojcik
Library Dean
California State University, Monterey Bay