From a Big Deal to Platinum Open Access: How the Population Association of American and Duke University Press Converted Demography

In 2021, the Population Association of America will move its flagship journal, Demography, from a large collection sold by a commercial publisher to a platinum open-access model published by a university press. University presses provide high-quality publishing services ethically and mindfully, with a mission that aligns with university libraries. But creating a viable alternative to a commercial publisher presents challenges. In this roundtable discussion, players within the scholarly communications ecosystem—a publisher, a librarian, and an association leader—will discuss Demography’s financial model and how the community is working together to cover the journal’s publishing costs and offset previous revenue streams. At a time when openly available global access to population research is of critical importance, how can the scholarly community ensure that Demography’s future is sustainable? And how can university presses build on lessons learned from converting Demography to provide cost-effective publishing alternatives?

Speakers

Dean Smith, Director, Duke University Press
Danielle Staudt, Executive Director, Population Association of America
Robin Sinn, Office of Scholarly Communication Coordinator, Johns Hopkins University Libraries
Celeste Feather, Senior Director of Content & Scholarly Communication Initiatives, LYRASIS