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Started in August 1991 by Paul Ginsparg, arXiv.org is internationally acknowledged as a pioneering digital archive and open access distribution service for research articles. The e-print repository, which moved to the Cornell University Library in 2001, has transformed the scholarly communication infrastructure of multiple fields of physics and plays an increasingly prominent role in mathematics, computer science, quantitative biology, quantitative finance, and statistics. arXiv is an essential component of scientific communication for many researchers worldwide in order to rapidly and widely disseminate their findings, establish priority of their discoveries, and seek feedback to help improve their work.
As of February December 2017, arXiv includes over 1.2 3 million e-prints. During 2016, the repository saw 113,380 new submissions and over 100 million downloads from all over the world. arXiv has an international scope, with submissions and readership from around the world, and collaborations with U.S. and foreign professional societies and other international organizations. Including indirects, arXiv’s operating costs for 2017 are projected to be approximately $1.2 million, including 9 FTE staff, server maintenance, and networking.
As 2017 is the last year of the current five-year business model , working with the Member Advisory Board (MAB), the arXiv team has created a sustainability model for 2018–2022. The purpose of the plan is to lay out a business model for arXiv including anticipated expenses, potential revenue streams, value propositions, and communication strategies. The plan entails only the regular operation of arXiv—in other words, what we call “keeping the lights on.” It should be seen as a baseline operational budget, as it does not factor in additional expenses required for R&D or new development projects such as the next-gen arXiv (arXiv-NG) initiative.
What was arXiv’s financial model through 2017?
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CUL provides a cash subsidy of $175,000 per year in support of arXiv’s operational costs (including the Program Director salary and benefits). In addition, CUL makes an in-kind contribution of all indirect costs, which currently represents 37% of total operating expenses.
The Simons Foundation contributes $100,000 per year in recognition of CUL’s stewardship of arXiv. In addition, the Foundation matches $300,000 per year of the funds generated through arXiv membership fees.
Each member institution pledges a five-year funding commitment to support arXiv. Based on institutional usage ranking, the annual fees are set in six tiers from $1,000 to $4,400.
Grants funds from foundations and agencies (e.g., Sloan Foundation and Heising-Simons Foundation) to assist with special projects such as the arXiv-NG.
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