On the road to open scholarship in 2022

Abstract

The Biochemical Society and Portland Press are committed to open scholarship. In 2020 we launched our Unlimited Read & Publish programme. This article summarizes the progress that has been made since then and explores the effect that our transitioning sales offerings have had on paywalls to published content. The share of content in our transitioning (hybrid) journals published open access (OA) is the highest it has ever been and continues to increase as more institutions take up transformative agreements with us each year. Open data and clear communication are key parts of the on-going transition, and progress with publishing workflows and data availability have been made. With over 40% of 2021’s published content in hybrid journals converted to OA, the Biochemical Society and Portland Press are also actively scoping future models. For this, we are seeking sustainable and collaborative pathways to completing our transition in a way that is globally equitable and inclusive.