The University of California system secured a landmark open-access deal with publisher Elsevier, it announced yesterday. Some university librarians hail the agreement as a breakthrough, but others question the possible long-term impacts. Over the past two years, both the UC system and Elsevier struck up multiple open-access agreements with other parties. Elsevier has now signed 15 open-access deals, while the UC system has signed nine. With more experience and data, Elsevier went back to the UC system in the summer of 2020 with a new proposal, and negotiations began again in earnest.
