Moving from Big deal Negotiations to making Agreements for Open Access to research Publications in Sweden: the Bibsam consortium Approach

How can Sweden reach full open access to all research output by 2026? What is needed to achieve an overview of the total cost of publication – including both publishing and subscription costs – in order to control the funding streams and usage rights when negotiating licensing contracts for open access to research publications? Knowledge about the cost of open access publishing is to a large extent incomplete today, but with the government directive to coordinate open access to research publications in Sweden, the National Library together with the main stakeholders, is backing international initiatives as OA2020 and LIBER for a swift transition to full open access. The library consortium Bibsam has, together with the open access team, begun work on a local OA2020 roadmap for Sweden. This roadmap comprises activities and time frames for making new license agreements which strive for FAIR and sustainable open access terms, using  evidence-based analyses in high-level negotiations with publishers. The following article attempts to describe the work of coordinating open access to research publications in Sweden, the role of the Bibsam Consortium in this process, and discusses aspects of current agreements containing open access components, especially offsetting deals. Further, it discusses future implications for strategies, negotiations and agreements in order to contribute to a conversion to full open access. However, this work cannot be carried out alone, but requires cooperation on a local, national, European and global level, including all relevant bodies and initiatives. The goal is the synergy and momentum which can be achieved by aligning existing policies, infrastructures and requirements which contribute towards realising a diverse, inclusive, innovative, sustainable and open scholarly system for the 21st century, one in which publicly funded research is not repurchased after publication but made immediately open access for the benefit of research, innovation, and society as a whole.