INTRODUCTION

The advent of online publication has greatly improved access to scientific content on a global scale. This has led to calls from the academic community for research to be made freely available online immediately upon publication, without the barrier of paid subscription to access. Much of the research published in NAR is funded from public or charitable sources, and proponents of Open Access put forward an ethical argument that the results, particularly of biomedical research, should be freely available to taxpayers, charitable donors, private physicians and patients, and other interested members of the public who are not affiliated with academic libraries.

In response to these calls, and following consultation with journal contributors, Oxford University Press and the Editors of Nucleic Acids Research (NAR) have launched an Open Access initiative for NAR. The aim of this initiative (in combination with others that OUP is undertaking) is to explore moving away from the current subscription-funded model towards an author-funded publication model, in which authors pay to have their papers published in NAR and made freely available online immediately upon publication.

OUP believes that journals such as NAR fulfil an important role within the research community, particularly in providing systems of peer review and authentication, and in establishing publication precedence. As such, our key priorities in publishing a journal are:

• to maximise dissemination of research information;
• to protect the integrity of our authors; and
• to maintain the highest standards of quality and integrity of our journals for the benefit of both authors and readers.

We also believe that it is very important that authors are not prevented from publishing in their journal of choice, for example, by author charges.

We are keeping these goals firmly in mind as we explore alternative models of publication, such as an Open Access model partially funded by author charges.

OVERVIEW OF NAR'S OPEN ACCESS MODEL

From 1st January 2005, all articles published in NAR are freely available online immediately upon publication. This means that it is no longer necessary to hold a subscription in order to read current NAR content online.

Our decision to implement an Open Access model was based in part on a large-scale survey of NAR authors and reviewers. Between March and April 2004, over 1000 members of the journal's community responded to our survey, with the majority supporting a move to full Open Access partially funded by author publication charges. We have also discussed possible models with representatives of the librarian community, who have expressed support for our experimentation with Open Access.

There are substantial costs associated with publishing a high quality journal such as NAR, for example in the administration of the editorial process, production of the published version, and development of online functionality; under a subscription-based model, these costs are primarily covered by charging libraries and individuals for access to the journal's content. Under NAR's Open Access model, we aim to cover the costs of publication primarily through a combination of author charges and institutional payments.

PUBLICATION CHARGES IN 2008

The Open Access movement is at an early stage, and if the author-funded model is to be successful, widespread changes in funding conventions may be required, so that all authors have access to sufficient financial resources to pay for publication of their research.

Recognizing this, we have developed an Open Access model for NAR which combines a variety of funding sources, primarily author charges, institutional memberships and print subscriptions. All articles published in NAR are published under an Open Access model; however author publication charges vary depending on whether the Corresponding author's institution has NAR membership.

2008 institutional price options:

1. Institutional membership of NAR. This secures substantially discounted publication charges for Corresponding authors based at the member institution (see below). Membership for 2008 is £2090 / $4180 / €3135.
2. Print subscription to NAR (£1822 / $3462 / €2733). The print-only option does not include NAR membership.

For the 2008 volume, Open Access charges for authors are as follows:

Author charge (per article)
Member institution - £685 / $1335 / €1025 (50% discount)
Non-member institution - £1370 / $2670 / €2050

The Open Access charges outlined above will be applied to articles of up to nine published pages in length. Each page above nine incurs an additional charge of £100 / $195 / €150 per page. Colour figures are not subject to an additional charge, although the use of colour is subject to the Editor's discretion.

NAR asks authors to state the source of funding used to pay the Open Access publication charge, after having a manuscript accepted. This provides transparency for readers, funding bodies, and the publisher. If appropriate the information will be added to the Acknowledgement section of the article. It is not compulsory to provide this information, but we encourage all authors to do so.

NAR applies a different charging policy for authors based in Developing Countries (see below).

NAR's current Open Access model is likely to represent a transitional phase - with the potential for developing our model based on future changes in funding. As an important part of our initiative, we will continue to consult with authors and institutions about the funds available to them for publications, and we will base our decisions about how to move forward on the response from the community.

NAR AUTHOR LOYALTY DISCOUNT

There is a Author Loyalty Discount open to authors submitting to NAR from non-member institutions. If you have a paper accepted to NAR, and pay the full-price open access publication charge, you will be given a unique Author Loyalty Discount Code when you complete the online charge form. If you then have another paper accepted within twelve months, you will be able to enter this code into the ‘Author Loyalty Discount’ box, and will receive a 50% discount on the full-price open access charge for your paper.

The conditions of this offer are:

• This only applies to authors paying the full Open Access Charge – not member institution or Developing Countries rates.
• The discount is non-transferable – the same corresponding author must be claiming the discount.
• The Author Loyalty Discount Code has to be redeemed within twelve months of its generation. For example, if the code is generated on 21/04/2007, it will need to be redeemed by 20/04/2008.
• Retrospective discount will not be offered – the Author Loyalty Discount Code must be entered at the point of paying the charge.
• The unique code cannot be re-supplied so please keep it safe ready for your next paper.
• When redeeming the Author Loyalty Discount Code you will not receive another Author Loyalty Discount Code.
• You can only receive an Author Loyalty Discount Code by completing the NAR Online Charge form.

SUPPORT FROM THE COMMUNITY

OUP and the NAR Editors would like to express our thanks to the many contributors who took the time to respond to our surveys and to our colleagues in the library community who were involved in the consultation process. Feedback from the information and scientific community has been and will continue to be a crucial part of NAR's Open Access experimentation.

We are pleased to have your ongoing support:

"This is brilliant news and I'm sure all the librarians consulted appreciate your willingness to listen. The same can't be said of all publishers!" Christine Fyfe, University Librarian, University of Leicester, UK

"This is a very courageous move on OUP's part. It will now be our turn to support you and get the word out to all of our scientists as to just how important a step we believe you are taking", Margaret Landesman, Head of Collection Development, University of Utah, USA

"It's an interesting model and I think the combination of funding routes will provide a useful way forward which others may well follow. I very much enjoyed having the opportunity to work with you and the rest of the group." Graham Bulpitt, Director of Library Services, Kingston University, UK

"I'm delighted to see this latest development, and it is really encouraging to see that you obviously listened to what we were saying to you when we had our 'think tank' session with you back in April. I really hope this goes well for OUP, and that its success will encourage others to follow where you have led." Clare Jenkins, Director of Library Services, Imperial College London.