Lib4RI Update #23: New Open Access Possibilities in 2021

21 January 2021

Lib4RI

This year, there are new possibilities for you to publish Open Access (OA): New deals with publishers allow you to publish OA free of charge and our new OA Fund helps you cover fees for articles in pure OA journals. We also offer on-demand workshops and a webinar explaining what OA is and how you can benefit from it.

New OA Deals
As of 1 January 2021, corresponding authors at Eawag, Empa, PSI and WSL can publish OA in all (or most) journals published by the Royal Society, Sage and Taylor & Francis at no additional cost. OA fees are covered by the new agreements. These so-called read and publish agreements combine reading access to publishers’ journals with provisions for affiliated authors to publish OA. Similar agreements previously negotiated with Elsevier and Springer continue in 2021. An agreement with Wiley is still being negotiated.

Below is an overview of the new and continued deals. For more details on the conditions, eligible journals, quotas, discounts, author actions, and background information, please visit our Open Access Discounts page.

OA Deals: Publishers and Eligible Journals

ECS: all journals (all of which are hybrid OA)
Elsevier: more than 2000 hybrid and full OA journals (Cell Press journals are excluded)
Royal Society*: all hybrid and full OA journals
Sage*: most hybrid OA journals (there is a 20% discount on full OA journals)
Springer: more than 2000 hybrid OA journals (Nature and full OA journals are excluded)
Taylor & Francis*: most hybrid and full OA journals

*New OA deal

OA Fund
Lib4RI now offers an OA fund to support you in publishing research articles in peer-reviewed, pure OA journals, i.e. journals that make all articles freely available to the reader (see DOAJ). With immediate effect, the fund replaces the Eawag and Empa OA publication funds and will now support researchers at all four research institutes: Eawag, Empa, PSI, and WSL. The fund is intended as a last resort for articles accepted for publication in eligible pure OA journals to cover fees when funds from any other source are unavailable. Visit our Open Access Fund page to learn more about the funding conditions and application process.

Green OA
Where the OA deals or the new OA fund do not meet your needs, e.g. if you are not the corresponding author or if the journal is not eligible, don’t fret! Almost all articles published closed access in traditional journals can be made OA in DORA with minimum effort and at no cost whatsoever. Simply send us the accepted versions of your published articles (i.e. the manuscripts after peer review but before publisher typesetting). This green road to OA is compliant with the OA regulations of many research funders. Also, note that archiving the accepted versions of your articles in DORA is mandatory for all researchers at Eawag (intranet) and Empa (intranet). Visit our Open Access page to find out more about green OA.

OA Info
We know that OA is becoming increasingly complicated, so we hope that the information here and on our website helps. We are happy to arrange customised training sessions to explain and discuss OA in more detail with your group or department (also via Zoom). Simply use our book a librarian service. To learn more about what OA is, what its benefits are and how to make your publication OA and get funding for it, watch our latest OA webinar. Of course, you can always contact us if you have any questions about OA discounts, OA funding or need assistance with OA publishing.

Read the entire Lib4RI Update #23.