UNB Research

At UNB, a significant portion of our Research Support Fund (RSF) allocation from the Government of Canada goes to our libraries’ acquisitions budget. These monies help ensure that users—students and faculty alike—have access to the sources they need for their work.

However, what that access looks like is continually changing. In previous eras, libraries relied on physical collections of books and periodical journals. With the rise of digital and network technologies, this has shifted to internet-based repositories, databases, and periodicals.

Along with this change in scholarly publishing and distribution came a shift in how libraries provide access to them.

With more research now published than ever before, libraries must decide which journals and publications to provide, determine what resources best help users find the research they need, and manage changing subscription models and costs.

A more recent shift in the publication landscape has led to a growing emphasis on Open Access—the idea that research should be freely accessible rather than behind a paywall—especially when research is publicly funded.

How UNB librarians approach their collections and acquisitions has likewise changed.

Today, a substantial portion of this budget is used not just for access subscriptions, but also to facilitate more open access to knowledge, and to help researchers make efficient use of the research funding in the process.

With many publishers, librarians have been able to negotiate “read and publish agreements.” These agreements combine journal subscription costs with the fees researchers normally pay to publish their work as open access. This gives the university continued access to journals while allowing researchers to publish without additional costs.

“Since 2021, UNB authors have saved more than $1 million in author costs, while publishing open access,” said Joanne Smyth, Director of Collections Strategy and Scholarly Communication.

“This means that their research is immediately available, more highly cited, and has a greater impact. In addition, more of their research funding can be directed to lab and field work instead of publishing costs.”

Librarians’ ability to achieve this relies on working through consortiums of libraries—and on having a subscription to the publication.

Without that existing payment to a publisher, it would be difficult to negotiate a reduction in author-paid fees with them. And, without the Research Support Fund, these subscriptions would be harder to maintain.

In addition to negotiating these transformative agreements, UNB’s librarians also use their acquisitions budget to contribute to Open Access publications and organisations, helping to build robust, non-commercial, scholar-led publishing infrastructure.

“While access to these publications is by nature free,” said Smyth, “there are still costs associated with academic publishing. By subscribing, we can help ensure the sustainability of Open Access as a model and more equitable access to knowledge.”