Momentum builds for Subscribe-to-Open as mathematics portfolio transitions to open access

Paris, France, 19 May 2021: It is confirmed that five mathematics journals published by EDP Sciences and the Société de Mathématiques Appliquées et Industrielles (SMAI) will join Mathematical Modelling of Natural Phenomena (MMNP) in open access under the Subscribe-to-Open (S2O) model in 2021*. The transition will further bolster S2O, a transformative model first introduced by Annual Reviews and recently endorsed by cOAlition S.

The decision to transition the journals to open access at this time has been reached despite challenging operating conditions. Inevitably, the Covid-19 pandemic continues to influence library finances and complicate subscriptions. The decision to proceed is therefore based on a range of exceptional factors and would not necessarily have been taken had finances alone been considered.

“In this first year of transition, we felt that supporting equitable open access through S2O merits pressing ahead with the transition even if all the financial criteria are not strictly met,” commented Agnès Henri, Managing Director, EDP Sciences. “Our six mathematics journals still require support from institutional subscribers to remain in open access and we encourage libraries to join our S2O programme as soon as they can.”

The mathematics community is particularly supportive of open science and keen to explore initiatives that further the transition to open access without relying on Article Processing Charges (APCs). For the journals following MMNP, all articles will be published open access, free of charge under a CC-BY 4.0 license with immediate effect. APCs do not apply and authors retain the copyright to their work.

“The inclusive nature of S2O allows anyone to publish research and access content regardless of their financial situation and therefore encourages diversity,” observes Anne Ruimy, Senior Publisher, EDP Sciences. “We believe S2O represents a step towards fair and sustainable open access based on collective responsibility.”

“This is a wonderful moment for our maths journals and all involved with them,” commented Amandine Véber, Director of Publications, SMAI. “Not only are they open access, but they are part of a collaborative model in which mathematical libraries play an essential role. S2O serves open science and the guiding principles within the mathematics community very well.”

MMNP was the first mathematics journal in the world to adopt the S2O model. Since then, and the initial announcement relating to the mathematics portfolio, a lot of work has taken place to develop the S2O programme both with SMAI and as an active member of the Subscribe to Open Community of Practice. Focusing on transparency is also a priority in order to boost confidence in the S2O model and allow objective decision-making.

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* The six journals published in open access in 2021 under the S2O programme are: ESAIM: Control, Optimisation and Calculus of Variations, ESAIM: Mathematical Modelling and Numerical Analysis, ESAIM: Probability and Statistics, Mathematical Modelling of Natural Phenomena, RAIRO – Operations Research and RAIRO – Theoretical Informatics and Applications. All the journals are published by EDP Sciences in partnership with SMAI except for RAIRO – Theoretical Informatics and Applications which is published by EDP Sciences only.

About Subscribe-to-Open

Subscribe-to-Open (S20) is one of the transformative models that aims to move subscription journals to open access. S2O was initiated by Annual Reviews and has been endorsed by cOAlition S. It has been embraced by a number of publishers who have come together in the S2O Community of Practice. This innovative model has quickly become an accepted approach for achieving fair and sustainable open access and builds on collaborative initiatives such as SCOAP3 and Knowledge Unlatched.

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About EDP Sciences

EDP Sciences was established in 1920 by a prestigious academic community of French learned societies seeking to inspire, innovate and inform others by sharing their knowledge. Members of this community included eminent scientists like Marie Curie, Paul Langevin and Louis de Broglie.

Since November 2019, EDP Sciences is owned by Science Press which is itself majority-owned by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). CAS is a prestigious learned society and the world’s largest research organisation. EDP Sciences has always been, and continues to be, the publishing partner of scientific communities throughout the world.

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