Labtiva and Nature Publishing Group expand user access to articles

Announced today in line with the Charleston Conference, the public can now buy and rent a selection of nature.com content for a lower price point through a new pilot developed by Labtiva, one of Digital Science’s portfolio companies. The pilot is an extension of the ReadCube Access program which we wrote about back in September, being trialled with the University of Utah. As of today, the general public – irregardless of institutional affiliation – will have access to the same feature through ReadCube, Labtiva’s flagship product that helps users better organise, annotate and discover content.

Articles read by clicking the ReadCube Access icon on nature.com pages cost between $5 and $11, compared to the $32 pay-per-view fee. A 48-hour rental costs between $3 and $5. Content can also be purchased or rented through the ReadCube application, as well. 

“We are committed to continued innovation and experimentation with new channels and pricing models. Our goal as a scientific publisher is to sustainably bring affordable access to high quality scientific literature to the widest possible audience,” said Steven Inchcoombe, Managing Director of NPG, in today’s joint release. “ReadCube Access coexists alongside our existing HTML full-text, PDF and app access options. We will be interested to see the uptake of this convenient format and price: whether by scientists on the go or checking for relevance; or by those in industry, patients and science-interested citizens.”

For more information about the pilot, see today’s release.