Open Access Publishing in High-Energy Physics: the SCOAP(3) Initiative

Scholarly communication in High-Energy Physics (HEP) shows traits very similar to Astronomy and Astrophysics: pervasiveness of Open Access to preprints through community-based services; a culture of openness and sharing among its researchers; a compact number of yearly articles published by a relatively small number of journals which are dear to the community. These aspects have led HEP to spearhead an innovative model for the transition of its scholarly publishing to Open Access. The Sponsoring Consortium for Open Access Publishing in Particle Physics (SCOAP(3)) aims to be a central body to finance peer-review service rather than the purchase of access to information as in the traditional subscription model, with all articles in the discipline eventually available in Open Access. Sustainable funding to SCOAP(3) would come from libraries, library consortia and HEP funding agencies, through a re-direction of funds currently spent for subscriptions to HEP journals. This paper presents the cultural and bibliometric factors at the roots of SCOAP(3) and the current status of this worldwide initiative.