Hello Schol Commrades–
It has been coming up a lot on my campus lately that deans and chairs of various departments are asking the library for help with regards to publication fees. I have a pretty straight forward answer when it turns out a predatory journal is asking for a fee — but what about those journals on the Cabells whitelist, journals published through associations, journals with solid track records in other areas that charge fees? Do we have an opinion on this as a group?
Areas where this comes up vary but include…
-submission fees (I say hard no to submission fees, but do others have thoughts?)
-after acceptance, to publish you must join the association for a fee (usually less than $100 and includes a subscription)
-after acceptance, to publish you must pay a gold OA fee
How do we tend to advise on these issues? Our deans and chairs have been asking because faculty are asking to be reimbursed for these fees, which faculty see as unavoidable under the pressures of publishing. The deans & chairs then ask for librarian expertise.
Thanks so much, everyone! I look forward to your thoughts.
Best,
Anne Hays, librarian at College of Staten Island