What prevents Elsevier from sabotaging our open access work?
This acquisition is part of a long-term move into the technology and services space for Elsevier. They have invested in bepress’s current model and have no interest in disrupting that. We know how important this issue is to you, and we have worked with Elsevier to confirm this in writing. In their words: “Elsevier fully supports open access and the projects that the bepress community has already made so successful, for example through Digital Commons. We want to do all we can to continue to support institutions to showcase their research output and promote their value.”
How does this affect pricing?
Our pricing model is remaining exactly the same. Elsevier is making a long-term investment in our technology and business model. Neither party wants to do anything that would jeopardize that—which price hikes would certainly do.
How does this affect our support?
You will continue to work with the same consultant, and support will continue to be unlimited. Elsevier is very impressed by our support model and is interested in drawing on our best practices to better support other products they offer.
What does this mean about the ownership of my content?
Nothing has changed here. The content is yours, as per your license agreement.
We still follow OAI-PMH standards, which means you can take your content wherever it needs to go. We also offer bepress Archive, which provides dependable storage of your files on a highly reliable cloud server. This also allows for you to have complete access to all your files at any time. For any questions about your content, please reach out to your consultant.
Will Elsevier charge us for integrating with other software?
We are only now starting to explore possible integrations, so this is not something we can provide much information on yet. As has always been the case, some developments in the future may constitute wholly new products, while many others will be packaged as features and included in our existing suite. What we do know is that there are no plans to change our current unlimited pricing model, and that no institution will be required to adopt any new technology or service.
We will proactively communicate any and all news about integrating other data and platforms as we continue this conversation with Elsevier. Again, Elsevier is enormously invested in supporting bepress’s success, and part of that is our unlimited business model. We have no reason to believe that that will change.
How does this affect bepress’s development roadmap?
We are looking forward to continuing with current development plans, with the addition of new resources. Look out for our harvesting tool later this month and unlimited native streaming in early fall. We also imagine that we’ll be able to develop at a faster pace. We hope to tackle some of the more ambitious features and integrations you’ve been asking about for a long time. Incorporating data from sources like Scopus and Plum Analytics is high on our list.
How can I stay up to date with what’s happening?
If you haven’t already, follow the blog! We’ll share big news by email as well.
