Issue:

UC and Elsevier have been unable to agree to a new contract for access to Elsevier publications that meets UC’s goal of supporting Open Access.  As a result, at the end of June 2019, the UC system including LBNL will lose access to all 2019 Elsevier content. Access to older content is not impacted by this dispute, and LBNL users can continue to access Elsevier content from 2018 and earlier via ScienceDirect (UC owns perpetual licenses to this content).

In short, UC seeks a new contract which facilitates Open Access to the research UC researchers publish in Elsevier journals.   Since Open Access is a requirement of both UC and DOE, such an approach would greatly simplify compliance with OA requirements for LBL researchers.

For more information on the status of negotiations, and the issues involved in the dispute, please see this website maintained by the UC Berkeley Library (http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/about/uc-elsevier).

Impacts and Alternatives:  

All 2019 Elsevier journal subscriptions will no longer be available to UC/LBNL researchers through ScienceDirect.  The LBNL and UCB libraries are standing by to assist you with getting access to this content through other means.

Alternative Sources for Content:

• Install Open Access plug-ins such as Open Access Button and Unpaywall

• Online Repositories such as:  Google Scholar, arXiv, PubMed Central or UC’s eScholarship

• Contact the author(s) of the article for a copy

Library Assisted Acquisition of the Title:

• Request through UC-eLinks, (select Baker as your pickup location!)

• Request from LBNL Library: [email protected]

Further information:

Alternative access to Elsevier articles:

As always, the LBNL Research Library staff is available to help if you have any additional questions (https://commons.lbl.gov/display/rst/Library).

Not Impacted:

• Scopus

• SciVal

• Pre-2019 content in ScienceDirect