Kunal Mehta @legoktm@mastodon.technology

Next steps: there will be a survey for unmoderated feedback that will go to the entire CSU.

Elsevier negotiations are proprietary, but updates will be on the library website.

Next steps: there will be a survey for unmoderated feedback that will go to the entire CSU.

Elsevier negotiations are proprietary, but updates will be on the library website.

Audience member: We need to fix the system. In 3 years, we're going to be back here. Need a paradigm shift.

Let's just publish our own journal.

Florida negotiated a smaller package, though FSU opted out.

Presenter thinks SUNYs are still negotiating.

"We're going to play hardball with them" -- Library dean

UCs prepared for about 2 years to walk away from the contract. CSU is on a much more accelerated timeline.

There are three major players in California. UC (pulled out), CSU (negotiating), and SCELC, which is endorsing/supporting the UC pull out (https://www.islab.gseis.ucla.edu/2019/09/24/scelc-supports-the-university-of-californias-push-for-open-access-to-research/)

Process note: this is the first public forum held in the CSUs. Other campuses are looking to see how our forum goes.

Professor (different one): Looking at journals isn't about looking up a specific article, it's like browsing a library shelf and picking out what you're interested by. Need to be able to browse through journals.

Professor: Graduate students will feel the impact now for lack of content. Undergrad students won't feel the impact until ~5 years from now.

Library dean: I would love that if tomorrow, libraries were funded to just take over production.

Elsevier has a 40% profit margin. What kind of industry has that kind of profit margin??

Library dean: We are culpable in this. We are the reason Elsevier exists. We do all the work. We do the research. And they make all the money!

Audience: For PDFs that are going to be open eventually anyways!

Education faculty: I respect the UC's decision to walk away.

The problem is that faculty are "graded" on their research impact by published articles. We need to look at the impact on how faculty are assessed/measured, and whether they are incentivized to make their research #OpenAccess so it has a larger impact.

Education faculty: I am deeply troubled by the major ethical flaws/etc. by Elsevier. They're not just double dipping, they're triple and quadruple dripping.

Library dean: Agreed.

A little bit of humor: Elsevier was ready to negotiate with Norwegians, but not the "country of California" 😂

Library dean: SJSU does not have the leverage to negotiate on its own, we need to negotiate as part of the CSU.

Question: if we cancel the contract, what are you going to spend the money on?

Library dean: There are soo many things we'd like to buy because we haven't had any increase in funding. More likely we'd end with a partial Elsevier contract, not full.

Library dean: Problem is that at this rate we're going to lose all of our other journals except Elsevier becaues that's all we can afford.

Professor: My students will just find another article if they hit a paywall.

Library dean: Exactly, there are alternatives. It's just a question if those alternatives are good.

Feedback from UC system: When people hit the new paywall, only ~1% actually put in a request with the library to get the article itself.