News


Deal will evaluate UK journal subscriptions


Jisc has announced that it will be using Unsub, an analytics dashboard, to help evaluate journal agreements that UK universities hold with publishers. The dashboard, created in 2019


by not-for-profit software firm Our Research, can forecast different journal subscription scenarios, giving Jisc insight into the costs and benefits of subscription packages for each university and across the consortium. Unsub is used by more than


400 research libraries worldwide, with Cambridge University and Lancaster University the latest UK institutions to subscribe. The partnership will allow


Jisc to extend Unsub’s data- driven insights beyond these universities, to encompass the entire UK higher education sector. In doing so, Jisc will join other consortia Unsub users, including CRKN (Canada), CAUL (Australia/ New Zealand) and Lyrasis (US). Caren Milloy, Jisc's director of


licensing, said: ‘In this period of financial uncertainty, it is essential we support our members in evaluating agreements they subscribe to. The new dashboard enables us to look at the value derived across all participating members, and assess the impact of different collection models. We are really pleased to support members with centrally co-ordinated data provision, to provide insights to inform institutional decision-making.’ Jason Priem, co-founder of Our


Research, added: ‘We’re thrilled to help Jisc continue its tradition of information leadership. This new partnership helps further Unsub’s goal of supporting libraries in re-evaluating their big deals, giving them the opportunity to focus spending in support of the transition to open access.’ Jisc says the Unsub dashboard


will streamline workflows and add data to its ongoing analysis efforts. Of particular value is Unsub’s ability to estimate the extent that OA scholarly articles can replace existing subscription access. Due to growth of OA, more than half of newly-published articles are free to read.


28 Research Information June/July 2021


Framework to support researchers launched by STM


A framework that helps online platforms determine in real time whether journal articles can be legally shared has been devised by experts at STM. The Article Sharing Framework announced at the STM Spring Conference will help platforms and publishers comply with new obligations from Europe. The new EU Copyright Directive, which


comes into effect in June, requires online content sharing platforms to seek permission from publishers when providing access to content uploaded by their users, and for publishers to provide the information necessary to determine if, or under which conditions, the sharing of content is permitted. To make complying with this as


easy as possible, STM – working with NISO (National Information Standards Organization) and Crossref – has developed an innovative solution, which allows platforms to automatically identify article versions, and their associated sharing permissions. This will allow them to determine in real-time if the uploading of an article is allowed. There is no cost associated with using the framework. James Milne, chair of the STM board


and president of the publications division of the American Chemical Society,


said: ‘The Article Sharing Framework removes the burden on researchers of having to check compliance, and instead encourages publishers and platforms to work together to facilitate sharing in ways that are respectful of publisher policies.' STM CEO Ian Moss added: 'The Article Sharing Framework is a great example of how we, and our members, support the work of researchers to ensure they are able to focus on their day jobs of making new discoveries, and enjoy a smooth workflow in relationship to the sharing of content against a background of complex legislative changes.’ Todd Carpenter, executive director of


NISO, said: ‘The Article Sharing Framework is built on two existing and adopted standards, the NISO Journal Article Versions and the NISO Article License Indicators Recommended Practices, which should ease the challenges of implementation. Working collaboratively across the community, we were able to find an elegant solution to a complex problem, without having to build a new infrastructure stack.’ Resources for integrating with the


Article Sharing Framework for publishers and platforms are being made available on the STM website.


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