Open Access Support for NC State Authors

What is open access (OA) publishing?

There are a variety of open access (OA) publishing models, but they all provide unrestricted public free access to articles published in a journal by generating funding from other sources, sometimes charging authors an article processing charge (APC) to support their publication.

What are traditional journal subscription models?

A traditional journal subscription model allows members of a research community like NC State University to access and read published articles in subscribed journals without having to pay to read those articles since the costs are all paid from the library budget (in our case, the NC State University Libraries receives state funding to pay for these subscriptions). These subscriptions are usually paid for on an annual basis.

Does the NC State University Libraries participate in any Open Access (OA) agreements with publishers?

The NC State University Libraries currently participates in several open access agreements which allow campus authors to publish their articles open access without the need to pay an article processing charge (APC). Details of these models are provided below. 

Do I need to publish my work as open access (OA) in order to comply with the upcoming OSTP federal agency policies for public access?

No. There is no requirement based on the OSTP proposed federal agency policy changes or in any emerging information from federal funding agencies that researchers will be required or even encouraged to publish open access to comply with the public access policy.  Our guide on the upcoming federal agency public access policies outlines what you need to know, how you can prepare, and support available to you. 

Annual Reviews is a non-profit publisher whose journals feature invited review articles in a variety of disciplines. For journals that are part of Annual Reviews’ Subscribe to Open model, all articles published in these journals for a given calendar year are converted to open access as long as subscription revenues are maintained for that year. In addition, all back volumes are made freely available. 

Agreement term: Annual 

The NC State University Libraries subscribes to journals that are part of this pilot program: Annual Review of Biomedical Engineering; Annual Review of Cancer Biology; Annual Review of Environment and Resources; Annual Review of Genomics and Human Genetics; Annual Review of Nuclear and Particle Science; Annual Review of Political Science; Annual Review of Public Health; and Annual Review of Virology. 

Beginning January 1, 2022, authors affiliated with NC State University  may publish primary research and review articles as open access in any of Cambridge University Press open access (OA) journals at no charge to the author.  

Agreement term: January 2022 - December 2024

To be eligible:

• The article MUST be accepted on January 1, 2022, or later, AND initially request to be Open Access
• You must be the corresponding author who is affiliated NC State University at the point of submission
• Be original research – eligible article types are research articles, review articles, rapid communications, brief reports and case reports.
• Be accepted for publication in a Cambridge University Press journal covered by the agreement

Learn more about OA publishing with Cambridge University Press

Beginning January 1, 2023, authors affiliated with NC State University may publish primary research and review articles as open access in the following hybrid Open Access journals: Genes & Development, Genome Research, Learning & Memory, RNA, and CSH Molecular Case Studies.

To be eligible:

• Your article must be on of the following types: peer-reviewed research, review, and case study articles. 
• Important: Protocols, methods, editorials, and comments are not included in the agreement.
• The corresponding author must be affiliated with NC State University.

More information and an FAQ for researchers is available here: https://www.cshl.edu/cold-spring-harbor-laboratory-press/journals/transformative-agreements/ 

The Company of Biologists is a not-for-profit publisher based in the UK.  Beginning in 2022, corresponding authors affiliated with NC State University may publish Open Access research articles without paying an article processing charge in any of the five journals published by the Company of Biologists: Development, Journal of Cell Science, Journal of Experimental Biology, Disease Models & Mechanisms, and Biology Open.

Agreement term: January 2022 - December 2024

To be eligible:

• You must be the corresponding author who is affiliated with NC State University at the point of article submission
• Authors will be able to select the option to publish Open Access after the manuscript is accepted.

See the Company of Biologists' Guide for Authors for more information.

Beginning January 1, 2023, corresponding authors affiliated with NC State University may publish primary research and review articles as open access in any of the Institute of Physics eligible open access (OA) journals at no charge to the author.  Note: American Astronomical Society journals are not included in this agreement.

Agreement term: January 2023 - December 2025

To be eligible:

• The article MUST be accepted from January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2025
• You must be the corresponding author who is affiliated NC State University at the point of submission
• Be original research – eligible article types are research papers, special issues, letters and review articles.
• Be accepted for publication in an Institute of Physics journal covered by the agreement

Learn more about OA publishing with the Institute of Physics

IWA Publishing is a subsidiary of the International Water Association (IWA), a not-for-profit professional organization based in the UK. Beginning in 2021, IWA Publishing will convert its ten subscription journals to open access using a Subscribe to Open model. As long as subscription revenues are maintained for a given calendar year, journals will be made open access for that year together with the previous five years’ of content. Authors will not be charged any article processing charges or other additional costs for article submissions.

Agreement term: Annual 

The NC State University Libraries subscribes to four IWA journals. The ten subscription journals that will be part of IWA Publishing’s Subscribe to Open model are: AQUA; Journal of Hydroinformatics; Journal of Water & Climate Change; Journal of Water & Health, Journal of Water, Sanitation & Hygiene for Development; Water Policy; Water Practice & Technology; Water Quality Research Journal; Water Science & Technology; and Water Supply. 

The Microbiology Society is a scholarly society based in the UK with worldwide membership and a mission to support the functional and practical study of microbes. They publish a mix of Open Access and Hybrid Open Access Journals, and NC State University Libraries participates in their Publish and Read subscription model. This subscription gives NC State University researchers full access to all of the Microbiology Society publications, as well as the option to publish open access with no additional charges. 

Agreement term: Annual 

The Microbiology Society publishes six journals, all of which are part of the program: Microbiology, Journal of General Virology, Journal of Medical Microbiology, Microbial Genomics, International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology, and Access Microbiology.

Agreement term: Ends December 2023

As of January 1, 2021, authors affiliated with NC State University may publish in PLOS Biology and PLOS Medicine without the need to pay the Article Processing Charge (APC).  

As of June 1, 2023, authors affiliated with NC State University may publish in PLOS Climate, PLOS Computational Biology, PLOS Digital Health, PLOS Genetics, PLOS Global Public Health, PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, PLOS ONE, PLOS Pathogens, PLOS Sustainability and Transformation, and PLOS Water journals at no charge to the author.  

To be eligible:

• Your manuscript must be accepted before December 31, 2023 to one of the PLOS journals. 
• You must be the corresponding author who is affiliated with NC State University at the point of article submission. 
• You must list your affiliation when submitting with PLOS to publish for free.  
• If you are a contributing author from NC State, but the corresponding author is from an institution that isn't participating in an agreement with PLOS, a 25% discount will be applied to publication fees for manuscripts where one or more of the contributing authors are members, but the corresponding author is not.  
• By partnership with PLOS, the NC State University Libraries pays an annual membership fee which covers the cost of publications for NC State authors.  When the current agreement ends, we will assess it's value for renewal.  Learn more about publishing with PLOS 

Beginning January 1, 2022, authors affiliated with NC State University may publish primary research and review articles as open access in any of the Royal Society journals at no charge to the author. 

 Agreement term: Annual

 To be eligible:

• Your manuscript must have been submitted on or after 1 January 2022 to any of the Royal Society journals
• You must be the corresponding author who is affiliated with NC State University at the point of article submission
• All primary research and review articles qualify
• Authors will need to select “Read & Publish model” option during the author submission workflow in the Royal Society's article submission system

Learn more about the Read & Publish model of open access publishing with the Royal Society as a member of NC State University

SCOAP3 is an international consortium of thousands of libraries, funding agencies and research centers that have established agreements with publishers in the high-energy physics field. These agreements subsidize the APCs for publishing in SCOAP3 journals. The NC State University Libraries supports SCOAP3 so that authors pay no APCs, retain copyright and have their articles published with immediate open access, thereby ensuring compliance with federal open access mandates.

Agreement term: Annual

Notable journals include: Journal of High Energy Physics, European Physical Journal C, Nuclear Physics B, Physics Letters B.

Beginning January 1, 2022, authors affiliated with NC State University and other participating Carolina Consortium institutions may publish primary research and review articles as open access in any of Wiley's hybrid journals at no charge to the author.  As of January 1, 2023, Wiley's gold (full OA) journals are also eligible. Please check before you submit your article to ensure the journal you are submitting to is part of our agreement.

Agreement term: January 2022 - December 2024

To be eligible:

• Wiley hybrid journals: your manuscript must have been accepted for publication on or after 1 January 2023
• Wiley fully open access journals: your manuscript must have been submitted on or after 1 January 2023.   
• Exceptions: Not all Hindawi journals are part of the agreement; please check before you submit your article. 
• You must be the corresponding author who is affiliated NC State University or an eligible Carolina Consortium institution at the point of acceptance.
• All primary research and review articles qualify.
• Learn more about the author's workflow for publishing OA in a Wiley hybrid journal or a Wiley full OA journal.
• If you have available grant funding to cover author processing charges, we encourage you to use those funds. 

Learn more about the Carolina Consortium Wiley Read and Publish agreement

Learn more about Open Access (OA) publishing with Wiley as a member of NC State University or an eligible Carolina Consortium institution

Does the Libraries help pay individual Article Processing Charges (APCs)?

In general, the Libraries does not have sufficient funds to help pay for individual article processing charges (APCs).  If your research is funded by a grant, you may want to see if the grant includes funds to help pay for open access fees.  Learn more about criteria considered for these types of open access APC memberships. 

One exception is for MDPI journals. The Libraries participates in the free version of the MDPI Institutional Open Access Plan (IOAP), which gives NC State researchers a 10% discount on all Article Processing Charges (APCs) and Book Processing Charges (BPC). The IOAP discount is applied automatically using the email address domain used at time of submission. Other discounts for society memberships or vouchers are also available, but cannot be used in addition to the IOAP discount.  We do not pay MDPI for this agreement; it is a standard discount offered to institutions for no fee. 

The Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, MDPI, was founded in 1996 and is currently supporting 279 peer-reviewed, open access journals.

Notable MDPI publications include: Molecules, International Journal of Molecular Sciences, Sensors, Marine Drugs, Energies, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Viruses, Remote Sensing, Forests, Sustainability, and Nutrients.

Are there other ways of sharing your work openly without any publishing costs?

Yes! Learn more here on our scholarly sharing guide and our open research guide.