German universities take on Elsevier
Consortium seeks country-wide licence for journals at reduced prices
A consortium of German universities, research institutes and public libraries has rejected the latest offer from Dutch publishing giant Elsevier for a new country-wide licensing agreement for its research portfolio. Germany’s chief negotiator says the offer does not meet the requirements of German researchers. The rejection in early July, comes after nearly a year of negotiations during which time rock-hard positions on both sides have scarcely budged, leaving a huge gap yet to be bridged.