Publishers endorse TRANSFER

The UKSG's TRANSFER Code of Practice has now been endorsed by 20 publishers. This means that access to over 8,000 journals is now protected in the event of a change of ownership.

The TRANSFER Code of Practice provides best practice guidelines and outlines responsibilities to ensure that journal content remains easily accessible in the event of a change of ownership.

Major signatories to the code include Elsevier, Nature and Wiley, but smaller publishers have also signed up such as the American Diabetes Association, Earthscan and the Rural Sociological Society.

'TRANSFER endorsement is a signal that a publisher understands its customers’ needs and is committed to providing a good level of service even in complex circumstances,' said Joan Emmet, NERL program librarian. 'By implementing standards of practice for the treatment of transfer titles, the job of keeping track of these titles becomes easier both for publisher and customer. The publisher who puts the code into practice will help set apart a journal/journals package when we are reviewing our collections.'