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.
This is in contrast to traditional publishing, where only paid subscribers can access the articles.
Does the NC State University Libraries participate in any open access agreements with publishers?
Yes! The Libraries currently participates in several agreements that allow campus authors to publish their articles open access without having to pay article processing charges (APCs). Details of these agreements are provided below. Note that authors remain responsible for any non-APC costs like page charges or fees for color images.
Does the Libraries help pay article processing charges (APCs) for other publishers?
No. The Libraries does not have sufficient funds to help pay for individual article processing charges (APCs) outside of the agreements listed below. 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.
Current open access agreements
Email library_cmdept@ncsu.edu with any questions about current or prospective agreements.
- Annual Reviews
NC State participates in Annual Review's Subscribe to Open (S2O) initiative by maintaining our subscriptions to select Annual Reviews journals. As long as Annual Reviews’ subscription revenues are maintained each year, journals will be published open access.
What journals does this agreement cover?
- Annual Reviews announces every quarter which titles have been successfully flipped to open.
- Recent announcements are available on the Annual Reviews Subscribe to Open webpage.
- For 2023, all 51 titles were published open access.
What are the eligibility requirements?
- There are no eligibility requirements.
- As long as Annual Review's subscription revenues are maintained each year, their journals will be published open access, and all authors can publish without paying a fee.
How do I make sure my article is published OA?
The Annual Reviews S2O model has been extremely successful since it began in 2020, but there are no guarantees about future success.
Additional Information
Annual Reviews solely publishes invited reviews and does not accept unsolicited submissions.
- Cambridge University Press
Authors affiliated with NC State may publish in Cambridge Gold OA and Hybrid OA journals at no charge to the author.
What journals does this agreement cover?
Download the full list of Cambridge University Press journals covered by the agreement (Excel spreadsheet) or use Cambridge's eligibility checker to find journals by subject.
What are the eligibility requirements?
- The article must be accepted by December 31, 2024.
- The corresponding author must be affiliated with NC State at the time of submission.
- The article must be one of the following article types: research article, review article, rapid communication, brief report, or case report.
How do I make sure my article is published OA?
- Select "North Carolina State University" as your affiliation during the submission process.
- After your article is accepted you will be asked to fill out an Author Publishing Agreement. Select the Gold OA option when filling out this form.
Additional Information
- The Libraries pays Cambridge University Press an annual fee which covers the cost of publication for NC State authors. We will assess the agreement's value when making renewal decisions.
- Learn more about OA publishing with Cambridge University Press.
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press
Authors affiliated with NC State may publish open access in select Cold Spring Harbor journals at no charge to the author.
What journals does this agreement cover?
The agreement covers the following journals: Genes & Development, Genome Research, Learning & Memory, RNA, and CSH Molecular Case Studies.
What are the eligibility requirements?
- The corresponding author must be affiliated with NC State at the time of acceptance.
- The article must be one of the following article types: peer-reviewed research, review, or case study.
- Protocols, methods, editorials, and comments are not included in the agreement.
How do I make sure my article is published OA?
You can choose to publish OA when you submit the License to Publish form.
Additional Information
- For authors who publish OA, the page charge and author fees are also covered by this agreement.
- Authors who are publishing closed access articles will be responsible for paying any normal author fees and page charges.
- Cold Spring Harbor's FAQ for authors
- Company of Biologists
Authors affiliated with NC State may publish open access in Company of Biologists journals at no charge to the author.
What journals does this agreement cover?
The agreement covers all five journals published by the Company of Biologists: Development, Journal of Cell Science, Journal of Experimental Biology, Disease Models & Mechanisms, and Biology Open
What are the eligibility requirements?
- The article must be accepted by December 31, 2024.
- The corresponding author must be affiliated with NC State at the time of submission.
How do I make sure my article is published OA?
Follow the directions in this guide for authors when preparing your submission and upon acceptance.
Additional Information
The Libraries pays Company of Biologists an annual subscription fee which covers the cost of publication for NC State authors. When the current agreement ends, we will assess its value for renewal.
- Institute of Physics (IOP)
Authors affiliated with NC State may publish open access in select IOP journals at no charge to the author.
What journals does this agreement cover?
View IOP's list of eligible journals. NC State's agreement includes the titles on all four lists (A, B, C, and D.)
What are the eligibility requirements?
- The article must be accepted by December 31, 2025.
- The corresponding author must be affiliated with NC State at the time of submission.
How do I make sure my article is published OA?
Follow IOP's guide to submitting under a transformative agreement.
Additional Information
- American Astronomical Society journals are not included in this agreement.
- A small number of IOP journals attach additional charges including, but not limited to, page charges. Our agreement does not cover those costs, and they remain payable by the authors.
- The Libraries pays IOP an annual subscription fee which covers the cost of publication for NC State authors. When the current agreement ends, we will assess its value for renewal.
- IWA Publishing
NC State participates in IWA's Subscribe to Open (S2O) initiative by maintaining our subscriptions to select IWA journals. As long as IWA's subscription revenues are maintained each year, journals will be published open access and up to five years’ historical content will be made freely available.
What journals does this agreement cover?
View IWA's current list of included journals.
What are the eligibility requirements?
- There are no eligibility requirements.
- As long as IWA's subscription revenues are maintained each year, all authors can publish without paying a fee.
How do I make sure my article is published OA?
No special action is needed if submitting to an included journal.
Additional Information
- Microbiology Society
Authors affiliated with NC State may publish open access in Microbiology Society journals at no charge to the author.
What journals does this agreement cover?
The agreement covers all journals published by the Microbiology Society.
What are the eligibility requirements?
The corresponding author must be affiliated with NC State at the time of acceptance.
How do I make sure my article is published OA?
Use your NCSU email address during the submission process.
Additional Information
Learn more about publishing OA with the Microbiology Society.
- Oxford University Press
This agreement covers the article processing charges (APCs) for NC State University authors who publish in Oxford University Press hybrid OA journals.
What journals does this agreement cover?
View the list of Oxford University Press journals covered by the agreement.
What are the eligibility requirements?
- The article must be accepted by December 31, 2026.
- The corresponding author must be affiliated with NC State at the time of acceptance.
- The article must be one of the following article types: research article, review article, case report, or brief report.
- Articles that will be published in a Supplement are not eligible.
How do I make sure my article is published OA?
- Select "North Carolina State University" as your primary affiliation during the submission process.
- After your article is accepted and you receive an email from SciPris, follow this guide from OUP.
Additional Information
- This agreement only covers the cost of the article processing charge (APC), which makes the work open access. The author is responsible for any other costs like page charges or fees for color images.
- PLOS
Authors affiliated with NC State may publish open access in PLOS journals at no charge to the author.
What journals does this agreement cover?
The agreement covers all PLOS journals.
What are the eligibility requirements?
- The article must be accepted by December 31, 2024.
- The corresponding author must be affiliated with NC State at the time of submission.
How do I make sure my article is published OA?
- When you log into the submission portal, click "Update My Information" and make sure you've selected "North Carolina State University" as your institution using the dropdown menu.
- When you get to the "Additional Information" section of the submission process, select "My institution will fully or partially pay the fee" for your payment type. Then select "North Carolina State University" from the dropdown menu.
- View this video for a step-by-step demo.
Additional Information
- The Libraries pays PLOS an annual subscription fee which covers the cost of publication for NC State authors. We will assess the agreement's value when making renewal decisions.
- 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 the publication fees.
- Learn more about publishing with PLOS.
- Royal Society
Authors affiliated with NC State may publish open access in Royal Society journals at no charge to the author.
What journals does this agreement cover?
The agreement covers all Royal Society journals.
What are the eligibility requirements?
- The article must be submitted by December 31, 2024.
- The corresponding author must be affiliated with NC State at the time of submission.
How do I make sure my article is published OA?
During the submission process, simply state your affiliation with NC State and select the "Read & Publish" option.
Additional Information
- The Libraries pays Royal Society a subscription which covers the cost of publication for NC State authors. We will assess the agreement's value when making renewal decisions.
- Learn more about publishing open access with the Royal Society.
- SCOAP3
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 Libraries supports SCOAP3 so that authors pay no APCs and retain copyright.
What journals does this agreement cover?
- The agreement covers all articles published in: European Physical Journal C, Journal of High Energy Physics, Nuclear Physics B, and Physics Letters B
- The agreement also covers high energy physics articles in additional partner journals. Read General Questions 7 and 8 for further details.
What are the eligibility requirements?
There are no eligibility requirements. All authors can publish without paying a fee.
How do I make sure my article is published OA?
No special action is needed if submitting to one of the four fully covered journals.
Additional Information
- Wiley
Wiley is a large, multi-disciplinary publisher with journals in a number of different formats including full and hybrid open access.
What journals does this agreement cover?
- NC State University Libraries is part of a consortial publishing agreement with Wiley that allows our authors to publish open access free of charge in any of Wiley’s hybrid or fully OA journals, excluding some Hindawi journals.
- Before submitting, check that your journal appears on either the list of hybrid journals or fully OA journals.
What are the eligibility requirements?
- Articles in fully OA journals must be submitted by December 31, 2024.
- Articles in hybrid journals must be accepted by December 31, 2024.
- The corresponding author must be affiliated with NC State at the time of acceptance.
- The article must be primary research or a review article.
How do I make sure my article is published OA?
Additional Information
- This agreement operates on a pool of shared tokens, and it is possible that these tokens might run out at the end of the calendar year. If you have available grant funding to cover APCs, we encourage you to use those funds.
- Learn more about Open Access (OA) publishing with Wiley as a member of NC State University or another eligible Carolina Consortium institution.
Are there any publishers that offer partial APC discounts to NC State authors?
MDPI gives NC State researchers a 10% discount on all Article Processing Charges (APCs) and Book Processing Charges (BPCs) through its Institutional Open Access Plan (IOAP). 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. This is a standard discount offered to participating institutions without any cost to the University.
How does the Libraries decide which open access agreements to participate in?
Most of the Libraries' open access agreements are made directly with a publisher and ensure that all NC State-affiliated corresponding authors can publish open access free of charge. These are commonly known as "read and publish" or "transformative" agreements. Another common type of agreement relies on NC State and other organizations all maintaining existing subscriptions to meet a publisher's revenue goal, at which point publications are made open access and all authors (not just those at NC State) can publish free of charge. This model is often called "subscribe to open" or "S2O."
Learn more about criteria considered for these types of open access agreements.
Do I need to publish my work as open access 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. That said, publishing open access will very likely be the easiest way to be in compliance with public access requirements. 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.
Are there other ways of sharing my work openly without any publishing costs?
Yes! Learn more here on our scholarly sharing guide and our open research guide.