Open access transition: A view through the lens of a librarian

Abstract

20 years after international initiatives agreed in a joint effort to convert the scientific publishing system to open access, the transformation has come to a standstill. Despite the establishment of open access strategies and open access offices at universities, a large proportion of publications remain not openly accessible. Initiatives such as Plan S, founded by a group of research funders, are trying to accelerate the open access transformation, putting pressure on commercial scientific publishers. Whether this can succeed depends not only on the participation of the scientific institutions, but above all on the strengthening of community-based and science-led initiatives and infrastructures with the aim of making the publishing sector as a whole fairer, more sustainable and more transparent.