The Journal of Visualized Experiments (JoVE), the first life sciences video methods journal, moved from an open access publishing model to paid subscription status last week (Apr. 2) in order to cover its costs of operations.

The journal, which has released more 300 video-protocol "articles," had been open access since its launch in October 2006. But citing the higher than usual costs associated with video production and the supporting technological infrastructure, JoVE quietly announced its change in business model through the blogosphere on Apr. 1 -- a day before the change took effect.

"To continue the [open access] approach, we would have to ask academic labs to pay us $6000 per video to cover our operation costs, and that's simply not possible today," Moshe Pritsker, CEO and editor-in-chief of JoVE, told The Scientist. "We like open access, we just can't survive on it."

JoVE is now selling institutional subscriptions that range from $1,000 per year for small colleges to $2,400 per year for large research universities. Pritsker said that "up to 10" institutions had signed up in the past week, including Harvard University, Wellesley College, and the University of California, Davis. Individuals can also buy $19 daily and $99 monthly subscriptions, as well as obtain free one-day trial access.

Pritsker expects JoVE to have 300 to 400 institutional subscribers within three years, which would represent a "pull even situation," he said. The journal will continue to charge $1,500 in author fees, although researchers can pay an extra $1,500 to make their publications freely and openly available.

"I can't say I'm terribly surprised," David Crotty, the executive editor of Cold Spring Harbor Protocols, wrote on his Bench Marks blog. "JoVE set themselves a monumental task, trying to break ground with a new type of science publishing and at the same time trying to do so with an unproven business model. Doing both together was perhaps a bit too ambitious."


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