Abstract

Since the introduction of the OA transformative agreement as a new way of licensing electronic resources, the number of OA transformative agreements has continued to grow. Despite the wide range of content that should be included in the agreement due to the nature of the OA transformative agreement, there is a lack of research on OA transformative agreements. As a basis for developing a standard for OA transformative agreements, this study examines the current status of OA transformative agreements and analyzes the differences between two types of OA transformative agreements and the subscription contract. It was found that the number of OA transformative agreements has increased significantly worldwide, but the disclosure of OA transformative agreements has not been universalized. The overall structure of two different types of OA transformative agreements and a subscription contract is similar, but there are differences in the detailed clauses. In the OA transformative agreement, the detailed clauses related to the characteristic of the transformative agreement were newly created, or the details of the transformative agreement were added to the existing clauses of the subscription agreement. There were also some differences between the two types of agreements, identifying clauses that differed in content regardless of the OA transformative agreement. The study concluded that it is important to standardize the OA transformative agreement, as the number of different clauses between agreement types may increase the burden on librarians. This study is significant in that it provides a basis for the development of standardized agreements by examining the overall status of OA transformative agreements and analyzing actual agreements.