The University of California libraries are committed to working collaboratively with a variety of partners and stakeholders to provide leadership in transforming scholarly communication into a system that is economically sustainable and ensures the widest possible access to the scholarly record. Part of this commitment to transforming scholarly publishing at a large scale necessitates transitioning away from subscription-based publishing models, and repurposing investments into sustainable open access (OA) funding models.

We have collected some of the University of California libraries’ documentation and analysis here in order to support other institutions who are evaluating next steps for their own OA transition efforts.

Pathways to Open Access 2018 Toolkit

To advance data-driven decision-making on scholarly communication issues, in February 2018, the University of California (UC) libraries and the California Digital Library released the Pathways to Open Access toolkit. The Pathways toolkit analyzes the many approaches and strategies for advancing the large-scale transition to OA, and identifies possible next action steps for UC system-wide investment and experimentation.

Choosing Pathways to OA (CP2OA) Forum

On October 16-17, 2018, University of California (UC) libraries hosted a working forum in Berkeley, California, called Choosing Pathways to Open Access (CP2OA). Sponsored by the University of California’s Council of University Librarians (CoUL), the forum was designed to enable North American library and consortium leaders and key academic stakeholders to engage in action-focused deliberations about redirecting subscription and other funds toward sustainable open access (OA) publishing. The goal was for everyone to leave with their own customized plans for how they will repurpose subscription spends within their home organizations or communities—and more broadly, through collective efforts, move the OA needle forward.

The CP2OA Planning Committee prepared a report to CoUL analyzing forum outcomes. The report also synthesizes forum outcomes into recommendations for further collective action by CoUL to advance OA. CoUL agreed to consider the recommendations, and in the meantime approved release of the report and public-facing CP2OA documentation so that other institutions can have a blueprint for replicating or tailoring CP2OA to their needs.

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