Read & Publish Open Access Agreements
What are these agreements?
"Read and publish" agreements are contract negotiations with academic libraries and publishers to provide discounts or waivers for Article Processing Charges (APCs) to publish open access in eligible journals based on their current subscriptions. These agreements are sometimes referred to as transformative agreements.
Is there a fund at UofL for Article Processing Charges (APCs)?
Many publishers charge Article Processing Charges (APCs) to publish open access, which vary in cost but can be quite expensive. Unfortunately, neither the Libraries nor the University provide funding for APCs at this time. We encourage you to include funding for open access charges in grant budgets, or find alternatives journals with no APCs. You can search for these in the Directory of Open Access Journals.
Can UofL make a "read and publish" agreement with a publisher?
UofL Libraries have partnered with several publshers to reduce the costs of publishing open access. The Libraries strive to make these agreements when feasible and sustainable, but these decisions often depend on being cost-neutral due to reductions in the Libraries budget.
Who can I contact for assistance?
If you have questions about these agreements, please contact Claudene Sproles, Head of Collections Management.
Your liaison librarian on the Belknap or Health Science Campus can assist you with identifying journals to publish in based on your needs.
Current Agreements
UofL Libraries currently have read and publish agreements with the following publishers. Agreements may change over time, but we will keep this list up to date.
- BMJ Case ReportsRead more about what they publish.
- Cambridge University PressSee list of eligible journals.
- Institute of Physics (IOP)See list of eligible journals.
- Microbiology SocietySee list of eligible journals.
- Royal Society of ChemistrySee list of eligible journals.
How It Works
If the UofL Libraries has a "read and publish" agreement with a publisher, you can publish your accepted manuscript open access without having to pay Article Processing Charges (APCs). The library may be informed of your submission, and there may be additional verification checks that you are currently affilitated with UofL. The publisher will then waive the APC and publish your work for anyone in the world to read for free!