“Transformative Agreements” & Library Publishing: A Short Examination

Library publishing is continually shaped by the goals of their parent institutions as well as outside organizations, namely the commercial publishing oligopoly. The emergence of “transformative agreements” (“TAs”) represents a new relationship between universities and commercial journal publishers. However, the motivations behind these agreements and the effects they may have on library publishing remain largely unexplored. In this presentation, I will critically examine “TAs” from the perspective of a library publisher and share three major analytical takeaways. First, I will compare how “TAs” and library publishers treat the means of production. Who owns and controls the publishing infrastructure and what effects does that have? Secondly, how do “TAs” and library publishing represent different categories of reform? Lastly, I will discuss how the differences between “TAs” and library publishing highlight and heighten the contradictions within research universities. Hopefully, participants will be able to use this analysis to advocate for library publishing in compelling ways within and across our respective institutions