On the Issues of a “Corresponding Author” Field-Based Monitoring Approach for Gold Open Access Publications and Derivative Cost Calculations

Within the last decade, the open access movement has gained momentum (Joseph, 2013), and researchers, research funders, and publishers find themselves confronted with challenges of all different kinds and dimensions. One of the major challenges is definitely cost-related. How can the outdated traditional subscription-based publishing model be successfully transformed into a sustainable open access model, which pleases all involved stakeholders alike? Currently, the research community, including research administrators, funders, and libraries has to deal with a colorful mix of models ranging from closed subscription to hybrid access to open access in different forms (Kaier and Ginther, 2017). Despite the importance and value of Green Open Access and repositories, particularly Gold Open Access is currently tackled as the apparently most promising route to achieve the anticipated transformation finally (Pinfield et al., 2017). Therefore, many initiatives around the globe rather focus on Gold Open Access, which economics not exclusively but heavily rely on so-called article processing charges (APCs). The same principle applies to hybrid access (Björk, 2017), whenever an article is made open access in a traditional journal by the authors’ request. As a result of the current co-existence of subscription fees and APCs during this transformation period, the unloved phenomenon of “double dipping” (payment for both subscription and open access fees) put the publishers on the spot. Due to this unstoppable development with a growing number of government and funding agency mandates and ever decreasing library budgets, the publishers have started to acknowledge the signs of the times and the need to adapt (Laakso et al., 2016). Major publishers such as Springer, Emerald, Sage, Taylor & Francis, IOP, and RSC have already agreed to either “offsetting” (APCs are bundled with subscription licenses) or “read and publish” (affiliated authors can access all licensed journals and also publish OA without extra cost) deals (Earney, 2017; Holzer, 2017). Universities, research societies, or even countries can now benefit from these new arrangements. In the long run, the subscription model is doomed. To speed up this evolutionary process, it is inevitable to come up with the estimated costs for this transformation (Schimmer et al., 2015). National and international initiatives aim to shed some light on this crucial information. Such an initiative, called “Austrian Transition to Open Access—AT2OA”,1 has just recently started in Austria. It is promoted by the Federal Ministry of Science, Research and Economy (BMWFW) and involves 21 Austrian universities under the lead of the University of Vienna. According to its project title, the aim is to foster the transformation from closed to open access of scholarly publications. One subproject will explicitly address potential impacts of this anticipated transformation. Within