Extraordinary news from the world of academic journal publishing this weekend, which saw the entire editorial board of Neuroimage resign en-masse in protest at the publisher’s unethical profit margins (‘Too greedy’: mass walkout at global science journal over ‘unethical’ fees, Observer 07.05.2023).

This issue goes to the heart of the libraries sector and our public mission to support literacy and learning. Unfair and unethical approach to e-content licensing by publishers not only inhibits academic librarians from doing their job, but it also places real pressure on other library budgets, including for professional staff.

Neuroimage publisher, Elsevier has positioned itself in a central position between academics and researchers, creating a model that means academics feel compelled to publish in over-priced journals in order to maintain their academic standing, and therefore their earnings.

Thanks to the efforts of campaigns like #eBookSOS and Knowledge Rights 21 (both of which CILIP actively supports), academics are increasingly aware of the terms under which much of their research is re-licensed for use and the negative impact on teaching and learning.

We hope that this walkout by one editorial board could signal the beginning of a process in which academics reject this ‘lock-in’ model for a fairer, more balanced, and ultimately more productive system of open access publishing.

The news comes hot on the heels of the announcement of the latest ‘transitional agreement’ negotiated by Jisc on behalf of academic libraries.

Although it represents real progress in a number of areas, the latest agreement falls short of the kind of sustainable, balanced long-term approach for which we and others have been calling.

Nick Poole, CEO of CILIP recently attended a Knowledge Rights 21 event in London, where he was able to set out our position on these issues.

Last month, CILIP became one of 16 national co-signatories to the open letter from KR21 calling on national legislators to take action on e-content licensing. As the letter states:

“Information users are now living in an increasingly connected world, and the needs of society and industry are best served by ensuring that libraries can provide them with access to the widest possible range of physical and digital materials, including e-books.

"We have, however, become very concerned that current modalities of operation, licensing and broader markets for eBooks are subverting the ability of libraries to perform their traditional and essential functions.

It is essential to ensure that eBook markets work in ways that allow libraries to do their job and to fulfil their public interest responsibilities, within a clear legal framework. Working alternatives that currently exist rely on voluntary action by publishers, and do not provide full access.Government action is therefore necessary.”

We will maintain our support for campaigns for a fairer regime in the UK and better legislation to promote teaching, learning and research.