Earlier this year a row between Nature Publishing Group (NPG) and the University of California (UC) erupted when the latter threatened the former with a total boycott. [Full disclosure: NPG publishes Nature, which this blog is part of].
In protest at what they said was an attempt to hike subscription fees, the University of California said it would ask faculty to cease submitting papers to NPG journals, as well as ceasing peer review or other editorial functions.
Now, following a 17 August meeting, both parties have put out a statement that is significantly more conciliatory than previous pronouncements.
“Our two organizations have agreed to work together in the coming months to address our mutual short- and long-term challenges, including an exploration of potential new approaches and evolving publishing models,” says the statement. “We look forward to a successful planning and experimentation process that results in mutual agreement that serves all stakeholder groups – NPG, the UC libraries, and the scholar community – thus avoiding the need for the boycott that had been discussed at an earlier stage.”
Full statement below the fold.
25 August 2010
Representatives from the University of California and Nature Publishing Group met on August 17, 2010 to discuss our organizations’ current licensing challenges and the larger issues of scholarly communication sustainability. The discussion was positive, with a full exchange of views and mutual recognition of the value that each of us contributes to the scholarly communication enterprise. Our two organizations have agreed to work together in the coming months to address our mutual short- and long-term challenges, including an exploration of potential new approaches and evolving publishing models. We look forward to a successful planning and experimentation process that results in mutual agreement that serves all stakeholder groups-NPG, the UC libraries, and the scholar community, thus avoiding the need for the boycott that had been discussed at an earlier stage.
We are aware that many in the library, publishing, and academic communities are interested in the outcome of these discussions, and we will provide further updates on our progress as appropriate.
For the University of California:
Laine Farley
Executive Director
California Digital Library
University of California, Office of the President
Ivy Anderson
Director of Collections
California Digital Library
University of California, Office of the President
Brian E. C. Schottlaender
The Audrey Geisel University Librarian
University of California – San Diego
Past Convener, University Librarians Council
Karen Butter
University Librarian and Assistant Vice Chancellor
University of California – San Francisco
Richard A. Schneider
Associate Professor, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery
University of California – San Francisco
Chair, University Committee on Library and Scholarly Communication
Keith R. Yamamoto, PhD
Executive Vice Dean, School of Medicine
University of California, San Francisco
For Nature Publishing Group:
Della Sar
Marketing and Sales Director
Nature Publishing Group
David Hoole
Director, Intellectual Property Policy and Licensing
Nature Publishing Group