Mathematics journals leave commercial publisher for community model
EMS Press – the publishing house of the European Mathematical Society – has announced that two established mathematics journals will join its portfolio, in what it describes as a significant shift away from commercial publishing models.
Foundations of Computational Mathematics and Archiv der Mathematik, currently published by Springer Nature, will move to EMS Press as subscription journals and transition under the Press’s new Launch to Open (L2O) model.
L2O is a community-based open access approach designed to increase transparency across the publishing system. Under the model, EMS Press discloses publication costs, subscription income and the financial thresholds required to convert journals to open access.
The approach aims to balance sustainability with accessibility, offering libraries and the academic community a clearer understanding of how their support contributes to open access outcomes. It also seeks to provide an alternative to article processing charges (APCs) and large bundled subscription agreements, which have often been criticised for limiting flexibility and creating financial barriers.
Commenting on the move, Markus Bachmayr, Editor-in-Chief of Foundations of Computational Mathematics, said: “We strongly believe that the future of mathematical publishing must be community-driven. Moving from a large commercial publisher to EMS Press aligns our journal with the core values of the academic community.”
“We’re delighted to welcome these journals to our collection,” André Gaul, CEO of EMS Press, said. “They are both highly regarded publications and bring greater breadth to our portfolio, strengthening our coverage in applied mathematics in particular. We’re also pleased to have developed L2O with the journals as a means of building a long-term, financially robust solution for open access. We hope this model will provide a route for journals seeking to move away from commercial publishers, particularly where APCs and ‘big deal’ subscription bundles create structural barriers to exit.”
Gabriele Nebe, Managing Editor of AdM, added “EMS Press has developed a fair model for publishing scientific papers. As a society publisher, they are attuned to the needs of mathematical journals, bringing significant advantages for readers, authors and editors.”