Assessing and managing transitional read and publish deals: a University of Salford case study

Abstract

This case study explores the processes and challenges of assessing and managing transitional agreements (TAs) at the University of Salford. TAs are contracts with publishers that shift spending from subscriptions to open access and therefore enable the transition to full and immediate open access for research articles. As a teaching-intensive and research-informed university with a small team, Salford needs to ensure that transitional deals are managed effectively and efficiently to maximize our resources and provide the content and publishing opportunities needed to support our teaching and research strategies. Here we describe our processes and the challenges we have faced working remotely and across teams. Finally, we reflect on future developments and how we can continue to adapt and develop our processes as the scholarly landscape evolves.

Keywords

• open access
• scholarly communications
• research
• universities
• subscriptions
• transitional agreements