Project

openCost: Automated, standardized delivery and open provision of publication costs and publishing agreements

Within the scope of openCost we are creating a technical infrastructure that allows us to comprehensively record all costs involved in scientific publishing and subsequently make them freely accessible by means of standardized interfaces. This is supposed to enable cost transparency on an institutional, national, and international level.

First project phase (2022 – 2025)

To this end, we developed metadata schema to record the publication costs of a scientific institution in a structured form and exchange them via OAI-PMH. In addition to OA publication charges (APCs), this also includes costs from transformative agreements. Moreover, the schema also covers additional costs such as color and page charges or processing fees that have often not been taken into account to date. Via OAI-PMH, service providers (e.g. aggregators and research funders) can harvest publication costs directly from the institutions. Within the framework of openCost, this was implemented using the OpenAPC service at Bielefeld University Library as an example.

In addition, the Electronic Journals Library (EZB) has been expanded to include functions for displaying publication information. With the new functions, expected publication costs as well as information on their acquisition can be displayed transparently at journal level. This helps researchers to weigh up different publication options in a cost-conscious manner. Library staff also benefit from the extension, as they can easily provide and maintain information on funding options . The EZB can thus be used as a central information platform for communicating open access information to researchers.

Second project phase (2025 – 2028)

The next phase of openCost will further expand the established technical infrastructure for the free exchange of publication costs. To this end, the existing openCost exchange format will be expanded to include additional publication types (e.g. books, conference proceedings) and new cost types, for example from the field of Diamond Open Access. An openCost validator will enable the automatic validation of the local openCost implementation by cost-bearing systems and thus facilitate subsequent use.

Another central focus is on the development of a generic openCost internal format that can serve as a blueprint for proprietary implementations. It will support institutions in setting up comprehensive local cost monitoring, as is necessary to establish an information budget.

The third focus is the extension of the EZB to include a contract registry, to complement ESAC. This registry will facilitate the transparent mapping of additional models such as memberships or Diamond Open Access in one place. The development of a dashboard that integrates aggregated data from various sources (e.g. OpenAPC, OpenAlex, DOAJ) also enables an evaluation of open access business models and contracts.

Through these developments, openCost contributes to further improving cost transparency at (inter)national level. The standardization and improved integration of publication cost data will support scientific institutions in making well-founded financial decisions and efficiently managing their open access strategies.

Funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) – grant number 457354095