Northeastern University Libraries has recently signed on to the SCOAP³ Expression of Interest. SCOAP³ is the Sponsoring Consortium for Open Access Publishing in Particle Physics Publishing. The goal of SCOAP³ is to create an innovative economic model to achieve open access to peer-reviewed literature in high-energy physics (HEP). The model seeks to re-direct the high cost of subscription expenditures to ensure open access and work to contain costs – and hopefully, achieve more value than is possible within a subscription-based system. The SCOAP³ initiative has already been endorsed by dozens of other institutions.  Each SCOAP³ partner will finance its contribution by canceling journal subscriptions. Each country (currently over 23 countries) will contribute according to its share of High Energy Physics publishing. The transition to open access will be facilitated by the fact that the large majority of HEP articles are published in just six peer-reviewed journals. HEP funding agencies and libraries are currently signing Expressions of Interest for the financial backing of the consortium. Provided that SCOAP³ funding partners are prepared to engage in long-term commitments, many publishers will hopefully be ready to enter into negotiations.  The example of SCOAP³ could be followed by other scientific fields. For more information, you may want to view the recent webcast about the project.  The talk given by Dr. Salvatore Mele of CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) about SCOAP³ is a very good introduction to the project.

The Digital Media Design Studio works collaboratively with faculty and the Ed Tech Center to effectively design and plan media assignments for non-media majors. A helpful planning guideline and worksheet are now available on the DMDS website and “Services for Faculty” link on the Libraries website. http://www.lib.neu.edu/about_us/digital_media/planning assignments/