Growth of hybrid open access, 2009-2016

Area of Science:

• Scholarly Communication
• Bibliometrics
• Open Access Publishing

Background:

• Hybrid Open Access (OA) offers a pathway for articles to be freely accessible in subscription journals.
• Major scholarly publishers have increasingly adopted hybrid OA options across their portfolios.
• Tracking the prevalence of hybrid OA has been challenging due to its scattered nature across numerous journals.

Purpose of the Study:

• To measure the evolution and prevalence of hybrid Open Access articles over time.
• To provide an overview of the growth trends in hybrid OA publishing.
• To investigate factors influencing the increase in hybrid OA article numbers.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of data from previous studies.
• Utilizing a variety of bibliometric methods to track hybrid OA.
• Examining trends from 2009 to 2016.

Main Results:

• The number of journals offering hybrid OA increased from approximately 2,000 in 2009 to nearly 10,000 in 2016.
• The volume of hybrid OA articles rose from an estimated 8,000 in 2009 to 45,000 in 2016.
• A notable acceleration in hybrid OA article growth occurred after 2014, coinciding with European funder initiatives for article processing charges (APCs).

Conclusions:

• Hybrid Open Access publishing has experienced substantial growth in both journal offerings and article volume.
• European research funder policies regarding article processing charges appear to be a significant driver for the increased adoption of hybrid OA.
• The study highlights the dynamic evolution of scholarly publishing models towards greater Open Access accessibility.