Open access publishing agreements

"Transformative agreements are those contracts negotiated between institutions and publishers that transform the business model underlying scholarly journal publishing, moving from one based on toll access (subscription) to one in which publishers are remunerated a fair price for their open access publishing services."

ESAC Initiative

‘Transformative agreement’ is a term that you will often hear when talking about open access publishing agreements. Transformative agreements are a type of open access publishing agreement and are negotiated at a national level, with individual universities deciding whether to participate. To be classed as transformative, agreements must meet five requirements set out by Jisc and be registered in the ESAC Transformative Agreement Registry. In short, transformative agreements are those agreements which clearly promote the transition to a fully open access model.

Most of the open access agreements that we hold at York are considered ‘transformative’, although not all. For an author this will not normally matter, as long as the agreement allows them to achieve open access. For the University, some of the cost of transformative agreements may be paid by research funders such as UKRI or Wellcome; for agreements that are not transformative, this is not the case and the full cost will be borne by the University.

No. If the journal that you are submitting to is included in a publisher agreement then open access can be requested through the journal’s own systems and there is no need to submit a request to the Library.

In some cases publishers will automatically include your article based on your affiliation to University of York. For some journals you may have to select the appropriate option in the publisher’s system. Information on how to ensure that your article is included can be found in the details for each agreement.

Eligibility criteria for agreements vary, but in most cases agreements can be used by anyone employed by the University, or anyone registered as a student at the University. That person will usually have to be the corresponding author on the article.

In most cases, journals and publishers will determine whether or not you are likely to be eligible for the agreement based on the information you give them on submission. This will tend to be based on your current affiliation or the email address that you give them.

For a very small minority of agreements, eligibility will be limited to author’s acknowledging funding from UKRI, Wellcome Trust, or another medical research charity. Where this is the case it will be clearly indicated on the journal list.

If you are unsure about your eligibility for the agreement, you can contact the open access team in the Library, or the publisher of the journal to which you are submitting.

All agreements will include original research and review articles. Some publishers will also allow other articles types to be made open access through agreements. For more information you should contact the publisher of the journal to which you are submitting.

The University has a read and publish deal with American Chemical Society (ACS), which means that University of York affiliated corresponding authors can publish in any ACS hybrid (subscription) or open access journal without incurring an open access fee (APC). Authors must select University of York as their institution on submission in ACS’s submission system, Paragon Plus. At manuscript acceptance, authors will be directed by ACS to sign the appropriate journal publishing agreement for the deal. The Library will be asked to confirm authors’ affiliation to the University. 

The University has a read and publish deal with American Institute of Physics (AIP), which means that University of York affiliated corresponding authors can publish Open Access in most of AIP’s hybrid (subscription) journals without incurring an open access fee (article processing charge). The deal does not cover AIP’s fully Open Access journals. Authors must use their University of York postal and email addresses when submitting their papers to AIP. A Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence will be applied by default.

The University has a read and publish deal with American Physical Society (APS), which allows all University of York corresponding authors to publish open access in any of the nine hybrid (subscription and open access) journals published by APS (listed below), without incurring an open access fee (article processing charge). The deal does not cover APS's fully open access journals. Articles will be published under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence by default.

• Physical Review A
• Physical Review Applied
• Physical Review B
• Physical Review C
• Physical Review D
• Physical Review E
• Physical Review Fluids
• Physical Review Letters
• Physical Review Materials

The University has a read and publish deal with the American Psychological Association (APA), which means that University of York affiliated corresponding authors can publish in any APA hybrid (subscription) journal without incurring an open access fee (APC). This includes hybrid journals published by Hogrefe which are included on the APA’s PsycArticles ejournal platform. The deal covers original peer-reviewed research and review articles. Articles will be published under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence by default. The deal excludes colour charges, which may still be charged to authors.

University of York affiliated corresponding authors are also eligible for a 25% discount on APCs for 3 Hogrefe fully open access journals:

• European Journal of Psychology Open
• Psychological Test Adaptation and Development
• Sports Psychiatry - Journal of Sports and Exercise Psychiatry

Authors must enter their affiliation as University of York in APA’s submission system and select the open access option which they are presented with after their article has been accepted for publication. APA will contact the Library for confirmation of affiliation.

The University has a deal with BMJ Publishing which allows University of York funded corresponding authors to publish Open Access in certain journals, without incurring an open access fee (article processing charge).

In order to be eligible for the scheme, a paper needs to acknowledge one of the following funders (it is not necessary for the corresponding author to be the holder of the funding - but the corresponding author does need to be affiliated with the University of York):

• UKRI 
• Wellcome Trust 
• British Heart Foundation 
• Blood Cancer UK 
• Cancer Research UK 
• Parkinsons UK 
• Versus Arthritis 

All papers published under the scheme will be made Open Access immediately on publication under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence and will also be deposited to Europe PubMed Central by BMJ on publication. The deal covers original articles reporting on primary research.

When submitting their manuscript to BMJ, eligible authors should enter the University’s Ringgold ID (8748) and their funder’s Open Funder ID when prompted into BMJ’s submission system. Once the paper has been accepted for publication, BMJ will ask the University Library to confirm that the corresponding author is affiliated with the University of York.

The deal covers the following journals: 

ADC: Education & Practice
ADC: Fetal & Neonatal
Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases
Archives of Disease in Childhood
BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine
BMJ Innovations
BMJ Leader
BMJ Military Health
BMJ Quality & Safety
BMJ Sexual and Reproductive Health
BMJ Supportive and Palliative Care
British Journal of Ophthalmology
British Journal of Sports Medicine
Emergency Medicine Journal
European Journal of Hospital Pharmacy
Evidence-Based Nursing
Frontline Gastroenterology
Gut
Heart
Injury Prevention
International Journal of Gynecological Cancer
Journal of Clinical Pathology
Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health
Journal of Medical Ethics
Journal of Medical Genetics
Journal of NeuroInterventional Surgery
Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry
Medical Humanities
Occupational and Environmental Medicine
Practical Neurology
Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine
Sexually Transmitted Infections
Thorax
Tobacco Control

The University has a ‘read and publish’ deal with Brill which means that all journal articles published by York-affiliated corresponding authors will be published Open Access immediately on publication under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence, without the author needing to pay an open access fee (article processing charge). There is no limit on the number of papers that can be made Open Access under the deal.

To publish your article Open Access, submit your article to your journal contact at Brill with the request to publish in Open Access and indicate that you are an author affiliated with one of the eligible institutions in the United Kingdom. Once the article gets accepted it will be published in Open Access right away and free of charge.

If you submit your article through Editorial Manager, you will be asked during the submission process whether you are eligible for the agreement. Once the article is accepted, it will be published in Open Access right away and free of charge.

Further information on the Brill website.

The University has a read and publish deal with Bristol University Press (BUP) which allows all University of York corresponding authors to publish in any BUP or Policy Press hybrid (subscription and OA) journal without incurring an open access fee (APC). Articles will be published under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence by default.

University of York corresponding authors, irrespective of funding, can publish Open Access in approximately 95% of CUPs fully open access journals and hybrid journals (i.e. ones containing both subscription and OA articles), without incurring an open access fee (article processing charge). See CUP's open access waivers and discounts page for a list of journals covered.

The agreement covers Research, Review Articles and Rapid Communications (RRR) article types and also Brief Reports and Case Reports.

CUP will identify eligible authors by their institutional email address. The Library will then be asked by CUP to confirm your affiliation to the University. By default, all articles will be published under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence. (If a choice of licences is offered, CC BY should be chosen for compliance with many funders, including UKRI and Wellcome Trust). 

University of York corresponding authors, irrespective of funding, can publish Open Access in any of CSHLP’s research journals (listed below) without incurring an open access fee (article processing charge). CSHLP will identify eligible authors by their institutional email address. All OA articles will be published under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence. All articles will also be deposited in PubMed Central by the publisher.

Note: The deal excludes review and methods journals, as these do not have an Open Access option.

Included journals:

• Genes and Development
• Genome Research
• RNA
• Learning & Memory

Corresponding authors affiliated to University of York are entitled to publish open access in Company of Biologists hybrid journals without incurring an open access fee (article processing charge).

Articles with a corresponding author using a University of York email address on submission will be published open access under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence, and the final text will be deposited to the Pubmed Central repository immediately on acceptance.

This deal applies to Company of Biologists hybrid titles. Fully Open Access titles are not covered by this agreement.

To be eligible authors must use their University of York email address on submission.

The University has a read and publish deal with Elsevier, which means that University of York affiliated corresponding authors can publish open access in Elsevier’s Core hybrid (subscription) journals without incurring an open access fee (APC). This also includes hybrid titles in Cell Press and The Lancet journals collection. The deal does not cover Elsevier’s fully open access journals. Authors should confirm their affiliation to the University of York when submitting their manuscripts to Elsevier. The Library will be asked to confirm authors’ affiliation to the University. 

A 15% discount exists on article processing charges for fully open access journals which are paid via York Open Access Fund.

University of York corresponding authors, irrespective of funding, can publish Open Access in any of the Geological Society journals or book series listed below without incurring an open access fee (article processing charge). Geological Society will identify eligible authors by their institutional email address. All OA articles will be published under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence.

Note: This publisher does not meet the OA requirements of the Wellcome Trust or some other medical funders, because they do not deposit articles in PubMed Central.

Included journals: 

• Journal of the Geological Society
• Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology & Hydrogeology
• Petroleum Geoscience
• Geochemistry: Exploration, Environment, Analysis
• Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society
• Scottish Journal of Geology

Included book series:

• Special Publications
• Memoirs
• Engineering Geology Special Publications

The University has a read and publish deal with Hindawi’s parent company, Wiley, which allows all University of York affiliated corresponding authors to publish in most Hindawi journal without incurring an open access fee (APC). The deal excludes some journals which are published jointly with other publishers. See the Wiley website for full instructions and a list of eligible journals. 

During submission, select the payment option that says “The Corresponding Author’s institution/funder has an agreement with Wiley” and follow the instructions to find and enter their account code. The Library will be asked by Wiley to confirm your affiliation to the University. (Your affiliation needs to be current at the point of acceptance for publication). 

The University has a ‘read and publish’ deal with Institute of Physics Publishing (IOPP) which means that all York-affiliated submitting corresponding authors can publish Open Access in the majority of IOPP’s hybrid (subscription and OA) journals and some of their fully open access journals, without incurring an open access fee (article processing charge). The deal covers all of the hybrid journals which are owned by IOPP, most society partner journals and a selection of fully OA journals.

IOPP will automatically identify qualifying articles and inform authors of their inclusion. Articles will be published under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence under the deal.

For further details of the deal, including instructions for authors and a list of the journals covered, see IOP’s web page (lists A, B and D apply to York).

Some journals may charge page charges or other publication fees which are not related to open access. These will not be covered under this agreement. Please check the submission guidance for your journal.

The University has a read and publish deal with John Benjamins which covers all of their journals. All York-affiliated corresponding authors can publish Open Access in included journals without incurring an open access fee (article processing charge). Authors must use their University of York email address and enter University of York as their organisation on submission and their article will be published Open Access under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence by default.

Corresponding authors affiliated to University of York are entitled to publish open access in Microbiology Society journals without incurring an open access fee (article processing charge).

Articles with a corresponding author using a University of York email address on submission will be published open access under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence, and the final text will be deposited to the Pubmed Central repository immediately on acceptance.

This applies to fully open access and hybrid titles.

To be eligible authors must use their University of York email address on submission.

The University has a read and publish deal with OUP which means that University of York affiliated corresponding authors can publish Open Access in 400+ fully Open Access and hybrid (subscription + OA) journals, without incurring an open access fee (article processing charge). A list of the journals included in the deal is available on OUP’s website. The deal covers research and review articles only. Biomedical and life sciences articles will be uploaded by OUP on publication to PubMed Central. All eligible articles will be published under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence, except for society titles that do not offer a CC BY option. In order to take advantage of the deal, authors must use their institutional address and email address. A step-by-step guide for authors is available on the OUP website.

The University has two separate deals with PLOS (Public Library of Science), which between them cover all PLOS journals.

University of York affiliated corresponding authors can publish in any of the following journals without incurring an open access fee (APC):

• PLOS Biology
• PLOS Climate
• PLOS Complex Systems
• PLOS Computational Biology
• PLOS Digital Health
• PLOS Genetics
• PLOS Global Public Health
• PLOS Medicine
• PLOS Mental Health
• PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases  
• PLOS ONE
• PLOS Pathogens
• PLOS Sustainability & Transformation
• PLOS Water

Additionally, University of York affiliated contributing authors can receive a 25% discount on the APC for the following journals:

• PLOS Medicine
• PLOS Biology
• PLOS Sustainability & Transformation

All papers will be published under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence and be deposited by PLOS in PubMed Central/Europe PubMed Central on publication. Eligible authors will be identified in PLOS' submission system.

Corresponding authors affiliated to University of York are entitled to publish open access in Portland Press journals without incurring an open access fee (article processing charge).

Articles with a corresponding author using a University of York email address on submission will be published open access under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence, and the final text will be deposited to the Pubmed Central repository immediately on acceptance.

This applies to fully open access and hybrid titles.

To be eligible authors must use their University of York email address on submission.

University of York corresponding authors, irrespective of funding, can publish Open Access in the following three journals published by Rockefeller University Press (RUP) without incurring an open access fee (article processing charge).

• Journal of Cell Biology
• Journal of Experimental Medicine
• Journal of General Physiology

The fully Open Access journal Life Sciences Alliance is not included.

RUP will automatically identify eligible articles. It is recommended that authors use their University of York email address for correspondence with RUP and make sure that they identify themselves as University of York affiliated when given the opportunity to do so by RUP. All articles will be made Open Access immediately on publication and a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence will be applied. RUP will deposit all articles to PubMed Central/Europe PubMed Central on publication.

The University has a read and publish deal with The Royal Society, which allows all University of York affiliated corresponding authors to publish in any of The Royal Society’s journals without incurring an open access fee (APC). Articles will be published under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence by default. Authors must select University of York (Ringgold ID 8748) as their affiliation in the The Royal Society’s manuscript submission system (ScholarOne), in order to apply the deal.

The University has a read and publish deal with Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), which means that University of York affiliated corresponding authors can publish in any RSC hybrid (subscription) journal without incurring an open access fee (APC). Corresponding authors must use their University of York email address in RSC’s submission system (ScholarOne). 

A discount of 15% will be applied to APCs for articles in RSC’s fully open access journals published by University of York corresponding authors.

The University has a ‘read and publish’ deal with Sage which means that all York-affiliated corresponding authors can publish Open Access in the majority of Sage’s hybrid (subscription and OA) journals, without incurring an open access fee (article processing charge). On acceptance, Sage will contact eligible corresponding authors with further details and a link to the Open Access Portal where they can accept Open Access publishing and sign the agreement. Articles will be Open Access immediately on publication under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence. A Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial (CC BY-NC) licence can be applied by request. There is no cap on the number of papers that can be made Open Access under this agreement.

A small number of SAGE hybrid journals are excluded from the offer. A list of these titles is  available on the Sage website. Some article types are also excluded, for example; book reviews, commercially sponsored articles.

The deal does not include Sage’s fully Open Access journals, but a 20% discount is available for these titles. The discount will be automatically applied by Sage.

The University has a read and publish deal with the Society for Neuroscience, which allows all University of York affiliated corresponding authors to publish in Journal of Neuroscience without incurring an open access fee (APC). The journal’s usual (non-OA) publication fee is also waived under this deal, meaning that there are no author-facing charges. The deal covers research and review articles. Articles will be published under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence by default. Corresponding authors must confirm their affiliation with the University of York during the submission process.

The University has an open access agreement with Springer Nature which means that corresponding authors affiliated to University of York can publish open access in many Springer Nature journals without paying an open access fee (article processing charge).

This agreement applies to Springer, Palgrave and Nature journals which operate a 'hybrid' (subscription and open access) model. The agreement does not cover fully open access journals, including SpringerOpen and BioMed Central journals (except where these have 'flipped' from hybrid to fully open access during the course of the deal). See the Springer website for a full list of eligible journals. 

Make sure you give University of York as your institutional affiliation when you submit your article. The Library will be contacted by Springer to confirm the affiliation, after which the article will be published open access.

A 15% discount exists on article processing charges for fully open access journals which are paid via the York Open Access Fund scheme.

The University is part of a national ‘read and publish’ deal with Wiley which means that York-affiliated corresponding authors can publish open access in any of Wiley’s fully open access and hybrid (subscription and OA) journals which offer their ‘OnlineOpen’ option, without incurring an open access fee (article processing charge). The deal also covers most of the fully open access Hindawi journals (excluding a small number of journals which are published jointly with other publishers). See the Wiley website for full instructions and a list of eligible journals. 

If you are publishing in a fully open access journal, the deal should be applied automatically if you select University of York as your institution during submission. If you are publishing in one of their hybrid journals, you will also have to select the OnlineOpen option on Wiley’s author dashboard after your paper has been accepted for publication. In either case, the Library will be asked by Wiley to confirm your affiliation to the University. 

The deal grants the UK HEI sector a limited number of ‘free’ APC credit each year, to be assigned across institutions on a first-come-first-served basis. If a certain threashold is reached then the deal will be restricted to papers acknowledging funding from UKRI and the former COAF group of medical charities (including Wellcome Trust) for the remainder of that calendar year.

As a participant in the Institutional Open Access Program, corresponding authors affiliated to University of York are entitled to a 20% discount on standard article processing charges (APCs) for all MDPI journals; a 10% discount on book processing charges (BPCs) at MDPI Books; and a 15% discount on MDPI language editing services.

To receive the APC discount, select University of York from the Institutional Open Access Program option during the submission process (if you are submitting from on campus then this option should select automatically).

These discounts cannot be used in combination with other discounts offered by MDPI.