The Next Frontier in Open Access: Transforming Library Workflows

The evolution of Open Access (OA) business models has outpaced the development of efficient and effective workflows within academic libraries. OA publishing agreements have introduced operational complexities that extend beyond financial commitments. Libraries are increasingly absorbing staff costs to manage OA agreement workflows. Drawing on the experience of a large North American research library, this presentation examines the systemic issues that hinder the scalable and sustainable support of OA publishing. It highlights the labor-intensive nature of current OA agreements, identifies pain points across the lifecycle of library OA business processes (planning, implementing, approving, and assessing), and explores opportunities for optimization through standards and collaborative solutions.