The Society for Scholarly Publishing (SSP) recently convened a Town Hall with colleagues from across scholarly publishing, research institutions, libraries, societies, university presses, and service providers to discuss the United States Office of Management and Budget’s proposed changes to federal financial assistance guidance and the potential implications for scholarly publishing, research communication, professional societies, and the broader research ecosystem.
Hosted by SSP’s Advocacy Committee, the Town Hall reflected SSP’s role as a convener: bringing the community together to surface shared concerns, identify resources, and support informed engagement.
Key Takeaways
Town Hall participants emphasized that the proposed rule could have broad consequences across the research ecosystem. Discussion focused on potential impacts on publication and dissemination costs, subscriptions, professional memberships, conference participation, public access, research communication, international collaboration, and the financial sustainability of scholarly societies and associations.
Participants also reinforced the importance of specific, substantive comments. Individual and organizational responses that describe concrete impacts on research workflows, costs, access, compliance, dissemination, and sustainability may be especially important to the public record.
Board Discussion and Immediate Actions
Following the Town Hall, SSP’s Advocacy Committee chairs brought two recommendations to SSP’s Board of Directors:
- SSP should submit an organizational comment to OMB.
The Board agreed that SSP will contribute a formal comment focused on issues directly affecting scholarly publishing, research communication, public access, and the sustainability of scholarly societies and associations, while recognizing the diversity of perspectives represented within SSP’s membership. - SSP should point the community to vetted resources and selectively support existing advocacy efforts.
The Board fully supported efforts to help members and community stakeholders identify credible resources, examples, and tools they may use as they consider whether and how to respond.
In the short term, SSP will submit its organizational comment, maintain a shared community resource document, and distribute resources through SSP communication channels.
Community Resource
SSP has created a shared resource document to gather relevant materials related to the proposed OMB rule change, including organizational statements, comment guidance, submission tools, and other community resources.
OMB Proposal Resources |
This resource is intended to support informed engagement. It is not legal guidance and does not replace each organization’s own review or decision-making process.
Longer-Term Advocacy Committee Work
The Town Hall also surfaced opportunities to strengthen SSP’s advocacy work beyond the immediate comment deadline. The Advocacy Committee will use this experience to inform future efforts, including:
- Developing a rapid-response framework for policy issues affecting scholarly publishing and communication;
- Building a network of member experts, allied organizations, and trusted resources;
- Exploring data-gathering needs to better document policy impacts on publishing, dissemination, public access, and society sustainability;
- Clarifying how SSP evaluates public statements, organizational comments, and partnerships;
- Identifying opportunities for collaboration with organizations that have relevant policy expertise, infrastructure, or tools.
How to Engage
The public comment deadline is July 13, 2026. SSP encourages members and community stakeholders to review the proposed rule, consult available resources, and consider whether to submit comments reflecting their own perspectives and experiences.
Questions or suggested resources may be sent to info@sspnet.org.
About the Society for Scholarly Publishing The Society for Scholarly Publishing (SSP), founded in 1978, is a nonprofit organization formed to promote and advance communication among all sectors of the scholarly publication community through networking, information dissemination, and facilitation of new developments in the field. SSP members represent all aspects of scholarly publishing—including publishers, printers, e-products developers, technical service providers, librarians, and editors. SSP members come from a wide range of large and small commercial and nonprofit organizations. They meet at SSP’s annual meetings, educational seminars, and regional events to hear the latest trends from respected colleagues and discuss common and mutual (and sometimes divergent) goals and viewpoints.
Contact Melanie Dolechek, Executive Director | info@sspnet.org | 303-422-3914
