UNC Extends Negotiations with Elsevier into 2020

In an announcement to the University of North Carolina researcher community, University Librarian Elaine Westbrooks explained that the Library's negotiations with the journal vendor Elsevier will continue into the new year. Elsevier's current proposal "would impose a significant increase that exceeds available funding," Westbrooks says. "Changes to the way we access some Elsevier content are inevitable."

Dutch Contract with Elsevier Raises Significant Alarm Bells

In recent weeks it has emerged that Elsevier is negotiating a new deal with VSNU, a consortia of Dutch Universities. According to press reports on leaked details of the deal…Elsevier will essentially accept a “zero revenue growth” position for its journal in exchange for the universities purchasing a large set of their data analytics products. There are many reasons why signing a deal like this would represent a very insidious precedent for the academic community.