What is Elseviers position?
MM: Elsevier’s position is quite neutral: the company wants to provide what authors and readers want in a way that is sustainable. With journals you have to be able to consistently deliver the services that authors and readers expect so you need a financially consistent model. The problem is that many open-access journals are not sustainable and there is a concern about whether the articles that they hold will still be there in 10 or 15 years time. Meanwhile, most publishers’ agreements with libraries already permit public access if the libraries themselves allow it. The public can also obtain materials as interlibrary loans. There are also other initiatives to make peer-reviewed articles available to the public online. For example, Elsevier and other publishers are involved in PatientInform, where expert editors select relevant and up-to-date medical articles to make available to the general public. Many physicians want patients to access the best and latest research rather than just
